HEPATITIS B, HEPATITIS C a HIV

KNOWLEDGE AMONG GENERAL PUBLIC OF PERIPHERAL AREAS OF MULTAN.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the level of knowledge regarding hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV among general public of peripheral
areas of Multan. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Peripheral areas of Multan, village Budhla Sunnat, kusba Ayazabad Marrhal
and PMRC Research Centre Nishtar Medical College Multan. Duration of study: From 01.05.2007 to 30.04.2008. Subjects and methods:
Medical camps were established in peripheral areas of Multan, village Budhla Sunnat and kusba Ayazabad Marrhal. It was a cross-sectional
study which was carried out using non-probability convenient sampling technique. Subjects of both sexes and adult age attending these medical
camps were included in the study. Informed consent was taken and confidentiality of the personal information was ensured. Specially designed
Proforma was filled in by the Research Officers and data entered in SPSS-11 and analyzed. Results: Three hundred and eight subjects were
interviewed. The age of subjects varied from 15-70 years. The mean age was 37.06 years ± 15.59 years. Two hundred and twenty three (72.4
%) were familiar with hepatitis B, 196 (63.6%) with hepatitis C and 146 (47.4%) with HIV and 133 (43.2%) were familiar with all three viruses
while 81 (26.5%) were unfamiliar with these viruses. Most of the subjects 93 (30.2%) knew about the transmission through injection by unsterilized
syringes, 90 (29.2%) were knowing that infected blood is important source of spread while 87 (28.2%) of the subjects were knowing
that these are spread through infected razors, 84 (27.2%) were knowing unsafe sex as a mode of transmission. Sharing objects can be the
source of spread was known to very less number of people, 9 (2.9%) were aware that these can spread through sharing infected tooth brushes,
7 (2.3%) with sharing infected "Miswaks" and only 3 (1 %) were aware that these can spread through infected combs. Electronic media was the
major source of knowledge 82 (26.6%), interpersonal communication 69 (22.4%) and newspapers in only 1 (0.3%). Conclusion: knowledge
about hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV is low in our study population. The results of the study have shown that many people still think that