Study of the Prevalence of Hepatitis B and Associated Risk Factors in Cotonou (Benin) and Dakar (Senegal)

Background: In 2019, the WHO estimated that over 296 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and over 820,000 deaths attributable to hepatitis B. Most people living with HBV are unaware of their immune status and live in endemic areas. This is the case of Benin and Senegal, which have little data on the disease. Objective: This study aimed to provide epidemiological furthers on hepatitis B in Dakar and Cotonou according to WHO recommendations about “obtaining data for action”. Materials and Methods: Our study took place at the Medical Biology Laboratory of the Idrissa Pouye General Hospital (LBM-HOGIP) in Dakar, Senegal. Participants were selected at the LBM-HOGIP of Dakar or at the LBMs of the health centres of the Archdiocese of Cotonou respectively from November to December 2019 and February to March 2020. All participants were tested for hepatitis B virus antigen (HBsAg) using a microparticle chemiluminescence immunoassay assay. Other risk factors including blood transfusion, haemodialysis, tattooing, cultural or clan scarification, piercing, injecting drug use, unprotected sex and surgical procedures were also investigated. Informed consent was obtained from each participant. The study was approved by the ethics committees in Senegal and Benin. For the biological tests, Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics software were used for the analysis of the results. Results: A total of 470 participants were recruited including 234 in Cotonou and 236 in Dakar. The median age in Cotonou was 29 years with extremes of 10 and 65 years, and 38 years in Dakar with extremes of 6 and 93 years. The prevalence of HBsAg was 12.39% in Cotonou and 19.91% in Dakar. The most affected age groups were 20 - 29 in Dakar and 30 - 39 in Cotonou. Except for piercing, none of the other risk factors considered in our study were found to be associated with HBV transmission in our populations. Conclusion: Our study is hospital-based and revealed high prevalence of HBsAg. These prevalences were higher in men.