Serosurvey of Hepatitis-B Surface Antigen in Afghan Refugees; the First Report from Qazvin, Iran

 Viral hepatitis B is a substantial contributor of dreadful liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and imposes ponderous burden on the ministry of health around the world. There are no adequate data on the prevalence of Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) among Afghan refugees, especially in one of their favorable host countries, Iran. This seroprevalence study aimed to estimate the prevalence rate of HBsAg among Afghan refugees to schedule much more efficient preventive measures.

In the current cross-sectional study, data were gathered for a total of 488 Afghan refugees referred to Mehr Medical Diagnostic Laboratory from April 2014 to January 2018. Initial information including age, sex, and education status were extracted. Collected samples from the patients were conducted using the General Biological Corporation (GBC) ELISA Kit to detect seronegative or seropositive HBsAg cases. Following all data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 software.

Sixteen cases with positive HBsAg were detected in 488 Afghan patients referred to the Mehr Laboratory from April 2014 to January 2018. The overall prevalence of HBsAg was calculated 3.3% (2.3% in females and 1% in males). The highest frequencies of HBsAg were associated to the age group of 21 to 30 years with 1.2% and none education level group with 1.8%.

According to the outcome of current study, free vaccination, treatment and screening seropositive individuals in borders will be applied to assist the design and management of preparatory preventive strategies.