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SEROPREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS B AND C AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC IN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL, IBADAN
Abstract
In endemic countries, like Nigeria, HBV infection occurs mainly during infancy and early
childhood, with mother to child transmission being a major route of chronic HBV
infections. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C
virus infection, the co-infection rate among pregnant women in Ibadan South Western
Nigeria and to identify the various risk factors associated with infection.
A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out at the ante-natal clinic of the
University College Hospital Ibadan. One hundred and eighty pregnant women were
recruited from March to August 2013, and were tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen
(BIORAD FRANCE) and anti-HCV antibody (DIAPRO Italy) using third generation
ELISA. Positive HBsAg samples were tested for other HBV serological markers and
serum HBV DNA were detected using PCR. Sero-positive HCV samples were tested for
Serum HCV RNA. Their biodata were obtained using a pretested structured questionnaire
to establish the sociodemographic characteristics and presence of possible risk factors.
The prevalence of HBsAg was 8.3% and 1.7% for anti-HCV antibody. There was no
HBV and HCV co-infection in this study. Out of the fifteen women sero-positive for
Hepatitis B virus, four (26.7%) were positive for HBeAg, eight (53.3%) were positive for
HBeAb, three (20%) were negative for both HBeAg and HBeAb, all had total HBcAb
(100%) and thirteen (86.7%) had HBV DNA in their serum. The mean age of the
respondents was 32.1 (SD 4.8 years), and the highest HBV infection rate occurred in the
25-29 year age group while all women positive for Hepatitis C virus were under 35 years
of age. Logistic regression revealed that women with multiple sexual partners were four
times more likely to acquire HBV infection (OR- 3.987, P- value=0.026) while those who
had their sexual debut at less than 15 years of age were twelve times more at risk for
HBV infection (OR 11.996, P- value=0.022). Previous history of jaundice remained the
most significant predictor of HCV infection after regression analysis (P- value=0.011).
High infectivity of both HBV and HCV is widespread among infected women of child
bearing age. Global best practices on prevention and control of Hepatitis B and C must be
emulated in Nigeria.
