Basharo Wayo Maisanda and Maier Manfred
Background: The prevalence of hepatitis B and C is on the increase globally and is a challenge for health care services worldwide. While there is no national program for hepatitis B and C in Nigeria, the prevalence is fast on the increase and there is the need for it be considered as a public health issue by policy makers. Some studies have suggested that hepatitis B prevalence is at 35 million in Nigeria, more so, vaccination against hepatitis B in Nigeria is lower than many sub Saharan African Countries .It was our aim to get detailed information on the prevalence of both hepatitis B and C in both scientific and grey literature.
Methods: A systematic review was performed by searching both scientific and grey literature published between 2000 and 2015. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined and the review process followed published recommendation.
Results: The Literature review identified 500 publications; of these 69 scientific reports and 16 grey literatures met the inclusion criteria. Results show a high prevalence of chronic liver disease in Nigeria. Hepatitis B prevalence was within the range of 2 to 20%, hepatitis C prevalence was in the range of 0.5% to 15% depending on the geographical region.
Conclusions: comprehensive and up-to-date data on the prevalence of hepatitis B and C in different parts of Nigeria are presented. They were found both in peer reviewed and grey literature. The grey literature, therefore, is an important source of information. Based on available data there is a need for a national program on hepatitis B and C so as to reduce the incidence rate and the total burden of liver disease in Nigeria.
