Abstract
Background: Hepatitis B and C viral infections during pregnancy are associated with high risk of maternal complications and mortality. There is high prevalence of vertical transmission causing fetal and neonatal hepatitis which can have serious effects on the neonate, leading to impaired physical and mental health later in life. This study was aimed at evaluating HBsAg and Anti-HCV prevalence of these viruses among pregnant women accessing antenatal care in Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nigeria.Materials and methods: This prospective cross sectional study took place between May-July 2016. A total of 200 blood samples were collected from pregnant women after informed consent and self-administered questionnaires were completed. Blood samples were analyzed using HBsAg and anti-HCV immunochromatographic screening kits (Fastep Polymed Therapeutics Inc, USA). Chi square test (Smith’s Statistical Package Version 2.80, California, USA) was used for assessing the association of risk factors with the infections.Results: The overall level of positivity for both viruses in the study population was 14.0%. The prevalence of HBsAg was 8.0% while Anti-HCV was 6.0% and no woman was coinfected with the 2 viruses. The infection rate was highest among those aged 21-30 years old and 31-40 years old for HBV and HCV respectively (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant association between the viral infections and history of blood transfusion (p 0.05) in this study. However, educational status, stage of pregnancy, type of marriage, parity and scarification marks did not show any statistically significant association with HBV and HCV infections (p>0.05), although there were arithmetic differences among the studied risk factors (p>0.05).Conclusion: The study confirms a high prevalence of HBsAg and Anti-HCV among pregnant women in Central Nigeria which is a serious public health problem that cannot be downplayed. Therefore, there is need for establishment of public health measures in order to reduce disease burden and vertical transmission, including routine screening of all pregnant women for these viruses.
Highlights
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a double-stranded circular DNA virus of complex structure, classified as an Orthohepadnavirus in the family Hepadnaviridae while Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a single stranded linear ssRNA virus in the family Flaviviridae [1]
Fifty percent of new infections are implicated to vertical transmission during pregnancy, a record that is linked to the fact that routine HBV screening is not incorporated during antenatal care in the area [5]
All the risk factors studied were not associated with the infections except for surgical /dental procedure which was statistically significant with HCV infection and History of blood transfusion was associated with the both viruses (p
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a double-stranded circular DNA virus of complex structure, classified as an Orthohepadnavirus in the family Hepadnaviridae while Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a single stranded linear ssRNA virus in the family Flaviviridae [1]. About 350 million and 190 million persons globally are infected with HBV and HCV respectively and are at high risk of death from active hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [2,3]. Fifty percent of new infections are implicated to vertical transmission during pregnancy, a record that is linked to the fact that routine HBV screening is not incorporated during antenatal care in the area [5]. Several studies have shown an improvement in the biochemical markers of liver damage in HCV infected women during pregnancy [7,8]. This phenomenon was seen during hemodilution in pregnancy because the transaminase levels returned to pre-pregnancy levels shortly after delivery. This study was aimed at evaluating HBsAg and Anti-HCV prevalence of these viruses among pregnant women accessing antenatal care in Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nigeria
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