Acceso usuarios
Arabia Saudí
HBV infection is still a major concern for global public health. According to WHO 1.5 million new cases of infection were found in 2019, leaving 296 million people with the disease(WHO, 2022). Compared to Western countries, where it affects less than 1% of the population, the Middle Eastern region has a higher prevalence of HBV infection (Habibzadeh, 2014). The prevalence of HBV is presently 1.7% in Saudi Arabia, according to the latest statistics and modeling research (Abaalkhail et al., 2021, Sanai et al., 2020).
Researchers from all across the world conducted research into public and/or healthcare practitioner knowledge, attitudes, and practices about HBV. More awareness of the disease and sufficient comprehension were linked to higher vaccination rates (Gürakar et al., 2014). A low degree of awareness regarding the illness, particularly the methods of HBV transmission, was identified by Hislop, et al. (Hislop et al., 2007). The usage of the internet and the media for health information on the disease, as well as being younger, having more education, and knowing more about HBV were all found to be significant predictors of knowledge (Yau et al., 2016). The general population ignores or is not aware of hepatitis B screening and infection-prevention vaccinations (Ma et al., 2007). The general population also knows little about the complications of HBV (Thompson et al., 2002).
HBV can be spread through sexual contact, the use of contaminated syringes, needles, or other injectable supplies, or even from mother to baby at birth (CDC, 2017). Higher levels of HBV are present in blood and serous exudates. For patients with characteristics, such as hepatic illness that is uncompensated, and immunosuppression, an interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) has limited success in the treatment of persistent HBV infections (Subaiea et al., 2017). Additionally, ribavirin (Wang et al., 2017), which has broad-spectrum antiviral activity, was one of many medicines that were tried and failed as prospective anti-HBV treatments(Aljofan et al., 2010). Chronic HBV infection is still incurable at this time (Aljofan et al., 2014).
HBV infection is a serious issue that affects people all over the world. It causes chronic liver disease and can even result in liver cirrhosis or liver cancer, which can be fatal. The study aimed to explore the awareness of HBV infection among the adult public in Arar City, Northern Saudi Arabia.
