The Efficacy of social media in creating awareness on the prevalence of HBsAg among student

Abstract

Hepatitis B is one of the most infectious disease in the world and a major public health problem. WHO estimated that about 5% of the world’s population are asymptomatic carriers and 300 million people worldwide are chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Chronic HBV infection is a major risk factor for deaths from cirrhosis and liver cancer. The infection has reached hyper-endemic levels in Nigeria, with the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) estimated to range from 10-40%. This study determined how social media is utilize to enlighten students on the prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen. Since social media constitutes a fundamental platform for the dissemination of vital information for use by members of the society, this makes it necessary to expect that some vital information on health issues, such as Hepatitis B Virus, can be transmitted to people through social media platforms, despite some outstanding dysfunctions of the social media. This study examines the extent to which social media platforms is used as tool for creating awareness on HBsAg amongst students of Science Laboratory Technology and Medical Laboratory Science of The Federal Polytechnic Damaturu, Taraba State Polytechnic Suntai and Taraba State University Jalingo.