{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T08:07:52Z","timestamp":1770883672367,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770854400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    In Pakistan, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) infections remain a major concern. This study assessed the self-reported prevalence, vaccination status, knowledge, risk factors, attitude, and behavioral practices related to both viruses in Pakistan, along with the impact of stigma and cultural norms on disease perception and management. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey, and the data was collected from 980 general Pakistani public (mostly 18\u201334 age) from January 15 to March 15, 2025. Among respondents, 79.2% were male and 20.8% female, while 58.5% did not know hepatitis (\n                    <jats:italic>p\u202f&amp;gt;<\/jats:italic>\n                    0.05). Only 7.3% reported HBV\/HDV self-reported diagnosis, lower than previous studies (16.6%), but 21.3% had a family history, indicating higher self-reported prevalence (\n                    <jats:italic>p\u202f&amp;lt;<\/jats:italic>\n                    0.05). Key risk factors included low vaccination coverage (26.4%, \u03c7\n                    <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                    \u202f=\u202f41.17,\n                    <jats:italic>p\u202f&amp;lt;<\/jats:italic>\n                    0.001), chronic infection (\u03c7\n                    <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                    \u202f=\u202f16.57,\n                    <jats:italic>p\u202f&amp;lt;<\/jats:italic>\n                    0.001), needle-sharing (9.2%), unlicensed dental (10.6%) and medical (19.3%) procedures, and poor glove usage (14.8%) (\n                    <jats:italic>p\u202f&amp;lt;<\/jats:italic>\n                    0.05). Limited public awareness (35.1%) was noted as the major barrier, while 38.4% of respondents acknowledged the presence of stigma. Participants lack adequate knowledge, gaps in vaccination, risky practices, and stigma persist. A comprehensive public health approach is essential to curb HBV\/HDV in Pakistan.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1748793","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T07:20:09Z","timestamp":1770880809000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessment of self-reported prevalence, vaccination status, knowledge and behavioral determinants of hepatitis B and D in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Sajid Ur","family":"Rahman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yanfei","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fazal","family":"Noor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Livestock and Dairy Development Department (Research Wing)","place":["Peshawar, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Munib","family":"Ullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University","place":["Rawalpindi, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hanif Ur","family":"Rahman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Virology Section, CMB Veterinary Research Institute","place":["Peshawar, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdul","family":"Qadeer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cell Biology, School of Life Science, Central South University","place":["Changsha, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tariq","family":"Ullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical D Unit, Department of Medicine, Ayub Teaching Hospital","place":["Abbottabad, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiumei","family":"Chi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology, Center of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, The First Hospital of Jilin University","place":["Changchun, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Junqi","family":"Niu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology, Center of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, The First Hospital of Jilin University","place":["Changchun, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Saeed","family":"Hamid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University","place":["Karachi, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhenfeng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","first-page":"547","article-title":"Hepatitis D in Pakistan","volume":"22","author":"Abbas","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. 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