Determining the Seroprevalence and the Knowledge of Viral Hepatitis B Infection among Beauticians in Yenagoa LGA, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Cosmetology is a rapidly growing field, resulting in increasing numbers of beauty centers and beauticians. Ear piercing is a common practice in Nigeria and, in recent years piercing of other body parts has greatly increased in popularity. Beauty treatments, such as piercing, tattooing, manicuring, and barbing are used by many people. Individuals working in barber shops, hairdressing and beauty centers are likely to have contact with blood through applications such as shaving, manicure, pedicure and skin care. The aim of this study was to determine hepatitis B virus (HBV) seroprevalence in a sample of beauticians in Yenagoa local government area, Bayelsa State (Nigeria) and to assess the level of knowledge of these professionals regarding viral hepatitis. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving a total of 120 beauticians (hairdressers and manicurists/pedicurists) that were selected by a multistage sampling method. Data was collected by an interviewer-administered questionnaire for knowledge assessment and serum samples were tested for HBsAg positivity using commercial enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) kits. Data collected were analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS), version 25 software. Of the total 120 participants 16 (13.3%) were males and 104 (86.7%) were females. The prevalence of HBV infections among the respondents was 7.5%. The knowledge of beauticians on awareness of viral hepatitis B was 5.8%, and their knowledge on ways of transmission was 61.7%. Conclusions: the findings indicate that, due to their low level of awareness of viral hepatitis B existence, beauticians working in Yenagoa Local Government Area are in a risk of HBV infection even though the seroprevalence of HBV was low.