Sero-molecular Prevalence of Zika Virus among Pregnant Women Attending Some Public Hospitals in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is one of the arboviruses implicated in febrile illness, microcephaly and other neurological disorders in babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy. Information on ZIKV in Nigeria is limited. Hence, this study was aimed at investigating the seroprevalence of Zika virus among pregnant women in Lagos State. In a cross-sectional study, blood samples collected from 352 randomly selected pregnant women in four hospitals in Lagos State were separated and plasma analyzed using Zika virus IgG and IgM capture Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Demeditec Diagnostics, Germany). The optical densities were read using Precision Microplate reader (Molecular devices) and cut-off calculated according to manufacturer’s guide. Parameters and symptoms such as history of fever, rashes on the body, exposure to mosquito were extracted from the questionnaire and analyzed. IgM seropositive samples were screened for ZIKV RNA on RT-qPCR. Out of 352 samples screened, 7(2.0%) and 5(1.4%) of the pregnant women tested positive for IgG and IgM respectively. None tested positive for both IgG and IgM markers. Statistical analysis showed that there is no significant relationship between the symptoms analyzed in this study at 95% Confidence interval except conjunctivitis. None of the ZIKV IgM seropositive samples tested positive for ZIKV RNA on RT-qPCR. The results show that there is evidence of exposure to Zika virus among the population studied in Lagos, Nigeria. Also, the low level seroprevalence of the virus in the population studied indicates that there is lack of herd immunity of Zika virus infection in Lagos, Nigeria.