ISSN 2360-7920
Abstract
All around the world, infectious agents are a major reason for health problems and increased deaths. Having this knowledge, infectious diseases and their risk factors among the hospital visited patients in Larkana were investigated. Between May 2023 and April 2024, data were collected from 840 individuals using the immune chromatographic technique who visited four clinical laboratories in Larkana. We found out both how frequent and how common each infection/disease is. The study was conducted with the review of the institutional ethical committee behind it. Five of the most vital infectious agents/ diseases were chosen for the Top 5 list. Of the patients tested, 385 (45.83%) had Hepatitis B virus infection, 168 (20%) tested positive for Salmonella typhi (associated with Typhoid fever), 128 (15.23%) for Hepatitis C virus, 103 (12.26%) had Helicobacter pylori and 56 (6.66%) for Plasmodium (associated with malaria). More than half of the 840 patients examined for infectious diseases were male at 443 (52.73%) and 397 (47.26%) were female. Most cases were seen in the group aged 21 to 30 and in married patients (52.19%). The study helps estimate the spread of the most frequent diseases, assess the risk factors and manage these diseases in Pakistan.
Keywords: Infectious agents, Prevalence, Epidemiology, Larkana