Abstract:

Hepatitis C virus infection is a concern for global health because it increases the risk of hepatocellular cancer, liver fibrosis, and mortality from liver disease. No safeguarding vaccination is yet accessible. The study's objectives were to identify the sociodemographic characteristics and the seroprevalence of the hepatitis C virus in the study area. A cross-sectional study was conducted by collecting blood samples from 1511 participants which were analysed for anti-HCV using a third-generation ELISA Kit. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23.0. p-values < 0.05 were considered significant. An overall 5.2% of the 1511 samples analysed were seropositive. Males had a seroprevalence of 7.1%, whereas females had a seroprevalence of 3.9% (p=0.01). The lowest seroprevalence was among the divorced and widowed, who had no detectable anti-HCV (p=0.007). Singles had the highest seroprevalence at 7.1%. Seroprevalence was highest (5.9%) among those with tertiary education and lowest (2.7%; p=0.461) among those with primary education. The highest seroprevalence was 6.9% among unemployed people, whereas the lowest was 3.4% among farmers (p=0.414). The highest seroprevalence was seen in monogamists (6.1%), with polygamists having none (p = 0.05). The seroprevalence was highest in non-alcoholics at 5.5% and lowest in alcoholics at 4.1% (p=0.407). Smokers had the lowest seroprevalence, at 3.2%, whereas non-smokers had the highest, at 5.3% (p=0.462). It is imperative to act quickly to prevent liver disease morbidity and mortality given the seroprevalence of 5.2% of HCV, which is of considerable public health concern.