Prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in populations of college students in Gujranwala

The prevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C infections was assessed among college students in district Gujranwala of Punjab province as there is insufficient published literature on this subject. HBsAg and AntiHCV screening were done in students aged between 16 to 21 years of both sexes in various colleges of district Gujranwala who presented themselves as voluntary blood donors. A total of 2502 subjects were screened for hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-C, 1770 male and 732 female subjects. The total prevalence of Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-C was found to be 4.08% (102/2502). Individually, the prevalence of hepatitis-B in population of college students was 1.76% (44/2502) and it was more common in male subjects 2.15% (38/1770) in comparison to female subjects with 0.84% (6/732). The prevalence of hepatitis-C in the population of college students was 2.32% (58/2502) and it was also more common in male subjects 2.60% (46/1770) in comparison to 1.68% (12/732) in female subjects. The prevalence of Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-C in the normal population of college students of Gujranwala district was found to be 1.76% and 2.32%. Compared to general populations of Pakistan, the seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C is low in the normal population of college students of Gujranwala. It might be possible to conclude that these student populations perhaps are not at higher risk of contracting hepatitis-B and hepatitis-C infections as compared to other