Abstract
IntroductionHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem worldwide owing to its high prevalence and significant morbidity and mortality. There are about 2 billion people living with HBV worldwide and over 360 million chronic carriers. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and practices of pregnant women and health care workers in the ANC and maternity units on HBV infection and its transmission.MethodsAbout 270 women attending ANC and 31 health care workers were selected by convenience sampling. They were evaluated using a structured questionnaire to assess their knowledge and practices on HBV prevention and transmission.ResultsPregnant women in the Limbe Health District demonstrated good knowledge but adopted poor practices whereas in the Muyuka Health District, pregnant women demonstrated poor knowledge and adopted poor practices regarding the mode of transmission and prevention of HBV infection. Health care workers in both the Limbe and Muyuka Health Districts however, demonstrated good knowledge and adopted good practices.ConclusionThere was a significant relationship between the knowledge and practice of pregnant women and health care workers on Hepatitis B prevention in the Muyuka Health District (P = 0.0006).
Highlights
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a small enveloped DNA virus known to infect humans and belongs to the hepadnaviridae family
The characteristics of the 270 pregnant women who responded to the questionnaires in the Limbe and Muyuka health districts are summarized on Table 1
There was a significant relationship between the knowledge and practice of pregnant women and health care workers on HBV infection in the Muyuka Health District with a P value of 0.0006 (Table 5)
Summary
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a small enveloped DNA virus known to infect humans and belongs to the hepadnaviridae family. The total number of deaths attributable to HBV was 786,000 according to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), 2010 Of these number, 132,200 (17%) were estimated to be caused by acute hepatitis B, 341,400 (43%) were caused by liver cancer and 312,400 (40%) were caused by cirrhosis [2]. The GBD 2010 estimates HBV to be the 15th ranked caused of human death [2] It is transmitted through sexual intercourse, by exchange of saliva during kissing and from infected mothers to their babies: during childbirth, breastfeeding and through the placenta [3]. A review of studies done in the USA has shown a high prevalence rate of HBV ranging from 13 to 18% in some groups of health care workers such as surgeons, [10]. This study was designed to assess the knowledge and practice of pregnant women attending antenatal clinic (ANC) and health care workers at the ANC and maternity units in the Limbe and Muyuka health districts of the south west region of Cameroon, with specific objective to determine the risk factors of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women and health care workers in the Limbe and Muyuka health districts
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