Virology Journal (Nov 2020)

Sero-prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus–hepatitis B virus (HIV–HBV) co-infection among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the associated risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  • Hussein Mukasa Kafeero,
  • Dorothy Ndagire,
  • Ponsiano Ocama,
  • Abdul Walusansa,
  • Hakim Sendagire

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-020-01443-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 1
pp. 1 – 19

Abstract

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Abstract Background There is plenitude of information on HIV infection among pregnant mothers attending antenatal care (ANC) in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the epidemiology of HBV–HIV co-infections in the same cohort is not clear despite the common route of transmission of both viruses. The aim of our study was to synthesize data on the prevalence of HBV–HIV co-infection among pregnant women attending ANC in Sub-Saharan Africa to assist in the design of public health interventions to mitigate the challenge. Methods The study was done in tandem with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) standards and the Cochran’s Q test, I2 statistics for heterogeneity and the prevalence were calculated using commercially available software called MedCalcs ( https://www.medcalc.org ). A random effect model was used to pool the prevalence since all the heterogeneities were high (≥ 78%) and Phet 0.0001). Within regional sub group meta-analyses, West Africa had significantly higher prevalence of 5.155% (95% = 2.671 to 8.392%) with heterogeneity (I2) of 92.25% (P 89%, P 0.05). After meta-regression for year of publication and sample size for HBsAg positivity, the results were not significantly associated with HBV pooled prevalence for sample size (P = 0.146) and year of publication (P = 0.560). Following sensitivity analysis, the HBsAg pooled prevalence slightly increased to 3.429% (95% CI = 2.459 to 4.554%) with heterogeneity I2 = 96.59% (95% CI = 95.93 to 97.14%), P < 0.0001 Conclusion There is an urgent need for routine HBV screening among HIV positive pregnant mothers attending antenatal care in sub-Saharan Africa to establish the extent of HBV–HIV co-infection in this cohort. Future studies need to investigate the putative risk factors for HBV–HIV co-infection and prioritize plausible control strategies.

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