Abstract

BackgroundHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a pandemic causing disease; more than 185 million people are infected worldwide. An HCV antibody (Ab) prevalence of 6.0% was estimated in Central African countries. The study aimed at providing HCV prevalence estimates among pregnant women in Rwanda.MethodsHCV surveillance through antibody screening test among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics was performed in 30 HIV sentinel surveillance sites in Rwanda.ResultsAmong 12,903 pregnant women tested at antenatal clinics, 335 (2.6% [95% Confidence Interval 2.32–2.87]) tested positive for HCV Ab. The prevalence of HCV Ab in women aged 25–49 years was 2.8% compared to 2.4% in women aged 15–24 years (aOR = 1.3; [1.05–1.59]); This proportion was 2.7% [2.37–2.94] in pregnant women in engaged in non-salaried employment compared to 1.2% [0.24–2.14] in those engaged in salaried employment (aOR = 3.2; [1.60–6.58]). The proportion of HCV Ab-positive co-infected with HIV was estimated at 3.9% (13 cases). Women in urban residence were more likely to be associated with HCV-infection (OR = 1.3; 95%CI [1.0–1.6]) compared to those living in rural setting.ConclusionHCV is a public health problem in pregnant women in Rwanda. Few pregnant women were co-infected with HCV and HIV. Living in urban setting was more likely to associate pregnant women with HCV infection.

Highlights

  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a pandemic causing disease; more than 185 million people are infected worldwide

  • The global prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was estimated between 1.2 and 3.8% according to World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden Disease (GBD), with more than 185 million people infected worldwide [1,2,3,4]

  • A proportion of 39.5% of women were at their 2–3 parity, 30.7% were at their first parity

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Summary

Introduction

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a pandemic causing disease; more than 185 million people are infected worldwide. An HCV antibody (Ab) prevalence of 6.0% was estimated in Central African countries. The study aimed at providing HCV prevalence estimates among pregnant women in Rwanda. The global prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was estimated between 1.2 and 3.8% according to World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden Disease (GBD), with more than 185 million people infected worldwide [1,2,3,4]. The region with the highest reported HCV prevalence in the world was found in Central Asia (3.8%). A study conducted in specific sub-Saharan African countries estimated a high prevalence of HCV (6.0%) in central African countries.

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