The Prevalence of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Viral Infections Among a Large Population of Afghans

Viral infections are a public health problem.

We would like to evaluate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B, C, and human immunodeficiency virus infections (HIV) in a large sample of the Afghanistan population in Kabul.

In total, 196516 Afghani citizens went to Fateme-al-Zahra clinic to perform obligatory checkup for traveling to Iran. The serum samples were primarily checked by rapid tests for HBV, HCV, and HIV, and in case of positive results, a commercial ELISA kit used as the confirmatory test.

Out of 196516 participants, 153763(78%) were men and 42753 (22%) were women. The seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV infections was 1.23% (2430), 0.13% (265) and 0.018% (16), respectively. The prevalence of HCV and HIV was significantly higher in males than females (m/f: 0.097%/0.037% vs. m/f: 0.008%/0%, respectively; P < 0.05). The simultaneous co-infection of HBV-HCV and HBV-HIV was 0.004% and 0.0005 %, respectively.

This study showed a low prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV among the study group. Considering the selection bias, sensitivity, and specificity of rapid tests, the real prevalence expected to be quite higher. Proper strategies to improve the social awareness and implement preventive vaccination for HBV can decrease the incidence of these infections.