Prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections among patients attending a sub-district government hospital in Kashipur, Uttarakhand: a hospital-based observational study

Background: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections frequently go unnoticed for years before developing into chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Sub-district government hospitals are frequently rural and semi-urban populations' only access to healthcare in India, but prevalence data from this tier are still hard to come by. This study was to ascertain the prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV in patients at a sub-district government hospital in Kashipur, as well as to look at variations over time and between the three service arms of OPD, JSY, and family planning. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the laboratory records of L. D. Bhatt Sub-District Government Hospital, Kashipur from April 2025 to February 2026 comprising 6,227 HBsAg and 6,003 anti-HCV tests in OPD, JSY and Family Planning. 95% confidence intervals were used to express the prevalence; z-tests and chi-square tests of homogeneity were employed, with p<0.05 being considered significant. Results: Total 200 of 6,003 people had anti-HCV (3.33%, 95% CI 2.88–3.79%) and 98 of 6,227 people had reactive HBsAg (1.57%, 95% CI 1.26-1.88%). HCV positivity was significantly higher (z=6.30, p<0.001). Monthly positivity varied significantly from month to month (HBsAg χ2=21.42, p=0.018; HCV χ2=22.89, p=0.011), with a December 2025 spike in HBsAg and a November 2025 spike in HCV driving the range of 0.81% to 3.53% for HBsAg and 1.63% to 5.88% for HCV. Conclusions: Both infections are still prevalent enough to warrant ongoing screening, with HCV being noticeably more prevalent than HBV. Prenatal HBsAg screening should be universal rather than selective, as evidenced by the high percentage of cases discovered through JSY.