IJISET - International Journal of Innovative Science, Engineering & Technology, Vol. 4 Issue 2, February 2017 ISSN (Online) 2348 – 7968 | Impact Factor (2016) – 5.264 www.ijiset.com 15 Knowledge and practice regarding Hepatitis B infection among nursing students of Rohtak, Haryana Anuj Jangra*, J S Malik**, Nitika Sharma*, Srishti Singh* * Junior Resident, Department of Community Medicine, Pt. B. D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak ** Senior Professor and Head Unit-II, Department of Community Medicine, Pt. B. D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak ABSTRACT Introduction: Hepatitis B is a potentially life- threatening infection caused by hepatitis B virus especially for the health care workers. As compared to the general population, the healthcare workers including the nursing students are at greater risk of contracting hepatitis B. Aims and objectives: To study knowledge and practice regarding hepatitis B infection among nursing students of Rohtak, Haryana. Material and methods: The study was carried out among 188 nursing students in an urban area of district Rohtak, Haryana from April-May 2016. Results: 53% of study participants were not vaccinated for hepatitis B, 16% partially vaccinated and 31% fully vaccinated. 63% of them knew that hepatitis B is a blood borne infection and only 6% knew it could be transmitted vertically from mother to unborn child. 63% considered themselves at risk and 94% of them knew it is preventable and safe and effective vaccine is available. Conclusion: The study highlights the poor vaccine compliance among nursing students. Knowledge and positive attitude can further improve vaccine compliance. Keywords- Awareness, hepatitis B, nursing students, vaccine. INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis B is a dreaded infectious disease and one of the major global public health problems. It is endemic throughout the world, especially in tropical and developing countries and some areas of Europe (1) . The global disease burden is staggering with about 240 million people chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) (2) . More than 686000 people die every year due to complications of hepatitis B, including cirrhosis and liver cancer (3) . In the Indian subcontinent, an estimated 2–5% of the general population is chronically infected placing India in an intermediate HBV endemicity zone. Children less than six years are most likely to be affected and 30–50% of infected children develop chronic infections, while 20–30% of chronically infected adults will develop cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. HBV causes 60-80% of primary liver cancer (2) . Realizing the magnitude of this problem, the World Health Assembly in May 2016, adopted the first “Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, 2016-2021” which highlights the critical role of Universal Health Coverage, the targets are aligned with those of the Sustainable Development Goals and has a vision of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health problem and this is encapsulated in the global targets of reducing new viral hepatitis infections by 90% and reducing deaths due to viral hepatitis by 65% by 2030 (4) . The healthcare workers are at increased risk of HBV infection than the general population. It has been found that the seroprevalence is two to four times higher among healthcare workers (5) . India has a much higher prevalence of HBV carriers than the developed countries, making the Indian healthcare students prone to exposure for blood borne pathogens, with the attendant risk of infection with HIV, HBV or hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis B, among these, is the most important infectious occupational disease and much more dangerous compared to HIV infection due to the fact that its transmission rate after percutaneous exposure to blood is much higher (about 30%) than that of HIV (0.3%) (6) . Although the Western institutions have taken passable steps to protect and fight against the disease, despite the minimal risk, the Indian institutions still remain ignorant with regards to this context (7) .