Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (Jan 2019)

Seroprevalence rates and awareness of hepatitis B and C viral infections among pregnant antenatal women attending the state specialist hospital Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

  • Patrick Olanrewaju Osho,
  • Evelyn Salewa Osho,
  • Matthew Temitope Oluwole,
  • Olumuyiwa John Fasipe,
  • Victor Olusesan Koledoye,
  • Oluwatosin Idowu Oni,
  • Akinwumi A Akinbodewa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/mjdrdypu.mjdrdypu_162_18
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 5
pp. 426 – 432

Abstract

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Background: The global burden of hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) infection is still a major public health challenge and burden in the 21st century, especially in endemic regions due to unavailability of early diagnostic techniques and treatments. The presence of chronic or fulminant hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection(s) had caused extensive and irreversible liver damage in different population groups from different parts of the world today, including Nigeria. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the seropositivity prevalence rates of HBV and HCV infections among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the State Specialist Hospital Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A review of hematological data was done for a period of 1 year which spanned from May 2015 to April 2016. During this period, pregnant women were recruited prospectively from the antenatal clinic and screened for HBV and HCV infections. The evaluation includes risk factor assessment based on age group and determination of rapid serology for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis C antibodies. Results: The results from our study revealed that out of the 1758 pregnant women recruited and screened, 1.47% and 0.00% within the age range of 25–29 years were positive to HBsAg and HCV, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the 4.2% overall prevalence rate obtained for HBsAg-positive women fell within the reference range for the general population in Nigeria (2.4%–18.4%). The observed overall prevalence value for HBsAg positive women also fell within the 2%–7% reference range for South-Western region geographical prevalence category for Nigeria which showed an intermediate endemic rate within the age range of 25–39 years. The prevalence outcome of this study is an alert threshold attributed to endemic sexual activity of this age range (25–39 years) and prevailing epidemic factors for HBV transmission among reproductive age group.

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