Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Viral Infection Burden among the Patient Attending OPD in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bihar

Introduction Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence is continuously in increasing trends in Bihar, India; however, their exact state-wide prevalence data are not available till now. An understanding of HBV and HCV prevalence, risk factors and genotype distribution can be used to plan control measures in Bihar. Material & Method: A prospective, OPD-based serosurvey was conducted from March-2024 to October-2024 at ANMMCH Gaya, Bihar. Children aged >=5 years and adults were eligible to participate. Demographic and risk behavior data were collected, and serological specimens were obtained and tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV antibody. Result: Out of 14,707 and 8,767 OPD patients participated for the HBV and HCV prevalence study respectively shows 2.30% of HBV and 0.27% of HCV prevalent. Sex wise distribution shows there was male preponderance with 68.44% of HBV and 58% of HCV. Both HBsAg and Anti-HCV positivity was most prevalent in the 40–49 year-old and 30–39 year-old age groups with HBsAg was 30.09% and 24.77% and Anti-HCV was 33.33% and 25.0% in respective age group. Among all HBsAg positive cases having a history of Diabetes, Hypertension, Chronic Renal Failure and Cancer were 8.26%, 12.09%, 1.77% and 1.18% and among all Anti-HCV positive cases having a history of Diabetes, Hypertension, Chronic Renal Failure and Cancer were 3.15%, 3.94%, 0.79% and 0.79%. Conclusion: This study findings estimate the overall prevalence of chronic HBV and HCV infection, their associated risk factors and demographic characteristics. These findings help and guide prevention and control efforts, including management options.