Hepatitis C Virus Antibody in Patients Attending Private Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis C is one of the major viruses that is of great concern to health authorities around the world, this is because of its high mortality and morbidity rate. This virus is the causative agents for chronic and acute hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and cancer, although there are many reports of its prevalence in Nigeria, none is available for private tertiary health facility. Method: Laboratory results of patients screened for hepatitis C antibody between January 2017 and November 2019 were extracted from the laboratory database and the results were presented in simple percentage. Result: A total of 3,359 patients were screened (1,409 males and 1,950 females), 90 patients were positive for hepatitis C antibody. Conclusion: This study further support previous reports that hepatitis C is still endemic in Nigeria, there is a need to identify the phenotype of the hepatitis virus present in the country.