Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Viruses among Grassroots Football Players in a Selected Community in Jos, Plateau State

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections remain significant global health challenges, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where the burden is disproportionately high. Contact sports, such as football, especially at the grassroots level where standard injury management protocols are often neglected, present potential avenues for blood-to-blood transmission of these viruses. This study aims to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections among grassroots football players in a selected community in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Methodology: The study was conducted in Haske community in Jos, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of grassroots football players who were actively participating in community football teams within the selected community. Three hundred and forty-three participants were enrolled consecutively over a period of one week, 249(72.6%) were males while 27.4% were females. The mean age of the study participants was 30.7±11.7 years (females = 32.2±14.1, males = 30.2±10.6 p-value = 0.633). Each consenting participant was administered a structured questionnaire and had their blood samples taken for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test and HCV antibody (Anti-HCV) test. Results: Among the 343 participants enrolled in this study, 173 were involved in grassroot football while 170 were not involved in grassroot football or any other form of contact sport. Most participants (81%) are aware of viral hepatitis infection (82.7% footballers and 79.3% non-footballers, p-value = 0.491. Only 42(12.3%) participants were able to recalled been fully vaccinated for hepatitis B, 17(9.9%) grassroot footballers and 25(14.8%) non-footballers, p-value = 0.189). The prevalence of HCV infection (based on positive anti-HCV test) in this study was 1.75%, 1.2% among grassroot footballers and 2.4% in non-footballers, p-value = 0.684). The prevalence of HBV infection (using positive HBsAg) was 9.3%, 8.1% among grassroot footballers and 10.6% in non-footballers, p-value = 0.435. Conclusion: Our study did not demonstrate any difference in the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among participants who engaged in grassroot football in comparison to those who do not engage in grassroot football or any other contact sport.