PREVALENCE OF HBV AND HCV AMONG GARBAGE COLLECTING CHILDREN

Viral hepatitis may be the cause of infection among children and adults presenting with hepatic disease. The Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and more than 350 million people are chronically infected with HBV worldwide. Higher rates are found among individuals in the population identified as at-risk groups. Early discovery through screening in these groups is essential in alleviating the potential burden due to complications of chronic hepatitis B and C. the main purpose of the current study was to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C among the garbage collecting children in Quetta city, since in this regard no previous work has been reported. It would be pertinent to mention here that the target group was Afghani children. Total 200 blood samples were collected for sake of screening HBV and HCV. Out of these samples 32 (16%) were found positive for HBsAG while 38 (19%) children were positive for HCV. One of the main reasons that came forward during the study was that children were the inhabitants of slums with poor hygienic conditions and their profession was to collect garbage from various areas of Quetta city. Upon further investigation it came forward that they were previously vaccinated for hepatitis. This study has been done with the objective to bring the positive cases of hepatitis and to increase awareness about hepatitis in order to decrease the rate of prevelance of HBV and HCV among garbage collecting children at Quetta city. Key words: HBV, HCV, prevalence, Quetta city