Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B, C and Syphilis among Overseas Job Applicants in Rawalpindi: A Retrospective Study

Background: Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, and syphilis are major public health challenges in low- and middle-income countries. Pre-employment screening of seemingly healthy job seekers abroad can track them down, but Pakistan lacks comprehensive data. Objectives: This study determined the results of the anti-reactive Hepatitis C Virus, Hepatitis B surface Antigen, and treponemal antibody among overseas job candidates, including signal intensity and monthly variability. Methods: I reviewed the records of 8,384 men aged 18-59 at Urgent Medical Diagnostic Center (UMDC) Rawalpindi from December 2024 to November 2025. There was an Signal/Cut-off reaction of 1.00 or more. The prevalence uses 95% of Confidence Intervals. Results: Of the samples examined, 245 (2.92 percent; 95 percent CI: 2.58–3.30) were found to be reactive (reactive): including 110 anti-HCV (1.31 percent), 69 syphilis (syphilis), and 66 HBSAG (0.79 percent). Severe reactivity (strong reactivity) was observed in 19.1% of anti-HCV, 47.0% of HBsAg and 34.8% of syphilis samples. Monthly rates ranged between 0.62 to 1.87 percent for anti-HCV, 0.30 to 1.23 percent for HBsAg and 0.20 to 1.28 percent for syphilis, with no consistent trend in sight. Conclusion: In this group of men screened at the same center, the overall reaction was about 3%. Because the results were not confirmed by follow-up testing, they reflect screening reactions rather than confirmed infections. These findings support confirmation testing, HBV vaccination, and awareness efforts, as well as routine pre-employment screening. Keywords: Hepatitis C; HBsAg; Syphilis; Prevalence; Reactive; Screening