prevalence, associated risk factors, hepatitis b virus infections, women of reproductive age, juba, south sudan, Medicine, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a partially double-stranded, enveloped virus with a circular DNA genome. This virus increasingly infects the population. Information on HBV infections in South Sudan is limited. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and major risk factors of HBV infections among women of reproductive age in Juba City, South Sudan. Method: This study adapted a quantitative cross-sectional research design to assess prevalence and risk factors of HBV infections among these women. The study sites were seven health facilities in Juba. A validated semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the 1808 randomly selected women. The study used EpiData software v4.7 to control data entry and Stata v15 for analysis. Chi squared tests and regression model were performed to determine association and likelihood respectively. Results: Among the 1808 women, the burden of HBV infections was 11.2% and nearly half were unaware of their HBV status. The HBV infections were significantly associated with blood transfusion (p