Awareness and Prevalence of Hepatitis B Infection Among Secondary School Students Blood Donors at Lake Zone Blood Transfusion Services Mwanza, Tanzania

Background:In sub-Saharan Africa, the hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to be a major public health concern.Students in secondary schools who donate blood are among the vulnerable groups most at risk of contracting HBV.In order to inform targeted actions to slow the spread of the virus and enhance community blood transfusion safety protocols, this research conducted a thorough assessment of students' knowledge levels, awareness of transmission risks, and prevalence of HBV infection.Objective: To determine the awareness and prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among secondary school students blood donors at Lake Zone Blood Transfusion Services (LZBTS) Mwanza, Tanzania. Methods:From May to August 2024, this descriptive, cross-sectional study enrolled a total number of 450 participants who were secondary school students' voluntary donors.Information was gathered through the use of structured survey questions and serological testing for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was done using Atlas Medical Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (Elisa) For in-vitro diagnostic kit.Data analysis involving descriptive statistics to summarize knowledge levels, awareness, and prevalence were entered in Microsoft excel and analyzed by using SPSS version 26.Results: Out of 450 secondary school students recruited in the study, 30 (6.7%) tested reactive for HBV infection.395 (87.8%) never heard of hepatitis B infection, 427 (94.9%) were unaware of the symptoms of Hepatitis B and majority of the participants 447 (99.3%) didn't know the transmission of HBV.Majority of the participants in the study were male 330 (73.3%).Among all participants recruited none had hepatitis B vaccine. Conclusion:Results shows that there is a need for disseminating knowledge to secondary school students regarding HBV.The results support evidence-based tactics meaning to lower the hepatitis B virus's spread and enhance secondary school blood donors' transfusion practices.