Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antiginaemia among newly employed staff of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

Objective:This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B antigen among newly employed staff in a Tertiary Hospital in South-South Nigeria.Method:The medical records of a total of 238 newly employed members of staff of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital between 2000 and 2006 were reviewed.Their socio-demographic data and Hepatitis B Surface Antigen(HBSAg) results were analyzed.Results:The overall prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antiginaemia was found to be 5.04%.The prevalence was 7.30%in males and statistically significant compared to 3.50%in females.Conclusion:There is a reasonably high prevalence of HBSAg among adults prior to employment into Health Care Institutions.This poses a danger to clients seeking care in these health care facilities and other health care workers.Health Institutions must have clear policies on engagement of new staff relating to such communicable diseases based on existing Nigerian labour laws including the Workman Compensation Act.They must also implement policies on universal precautions to safeguard the health workers and clients in their care.Public enlightenment on the National Program on Immunization(NPI) must be intensified as a strategy to reduce the prevalence of HBSAg and its attendant consequences.