Abstract
Introductionhepatitis B infection is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV is transmitted through sexual intercourse, by exchange of saliva during kissing and also to newborns of infected mothers. In the Global Burden of Diseases 2010, 786,000 deaths were attributed to HBV. Studies in Cameroon, reported the prevalence of HBV as high as 10.1% and 12% among blood donors in hospital blood banks. This study therefore, aims at determining the prevalence of HBsAg, knowledge and practices of pregnant women on HBV prevention and transmission in the Limbe Health District (LHD) and Muyuka Health District (MHD).MethodsANC registers were exploited from the health centers for a period of three years (2014-2016) in order to determine the prevalence of HBV infection. 270 women attending ANC were selected by exhaustive sampling. Knowledge and practices of participants on HBV prevention and transmission was assessed using a structured questionnaire.Resultsthe prevalence of HBV in the LHD and MHD were 5.7% and 7.5% respectively. Pregnant women in the LHD demonstrated good knowledge but adopted poor practices whereas in the MHD, pregnant women demonstrated poor knowledge and adopted poor practices regarding the mode of transmission and prevention of HBV infection. There was a significant association between the prevalence of HBsAg and marital status (p = 0.000) in the LHD and age (p = 0.022) in the MHD.Conclusionthis study indicated a high prevalence of HBV among pregnant women in the LHD and MHD, knowledge and practices were identified as potential risk factors.
Highlights
Hepatitis B infection is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), an enveloped DNA virus that infects the human liver and causes hepatocellular necrosis and inflammation
Prevalence of hepatitis B infection among pregnant women obtained by years and by Health Districts: the prevalence of hepatitis B infection in pregnant women varied yearly according to the different health districts
The prevalence of HBV infection was estimated among pregnant women based on records obtained, knowledge and practices regarding hepatitis B prevention and transmission of pregnant women attending Antenatal Clinics (ANC) in the Limbe and Muyuka health districts of the South West region of Cameroon were assessed
Summary
Hepatitis B infection is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), an enveloped DNA virus that infects the human liver and causes hepatocellular necrosis and inflammation. It is transmitted through sexual intercourse with an infected person, by exchange of saliva during kissing with an infected person and from infected mothers to their babies: during childbirth, breastfeeding and through the placenta [1]. Liver injury occurs through immune-mediated killing of infected liver cells [2]. This infection can either be acute or chronic and may range from asymptomatic infection or mild disease to severe or rarely fulminant hepatitis. In the Global Burden of Disease 2010, the total number of deaths attributable to hepatitis B was 786,000 deaths, of which 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 [8]
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