Epidemiologic Survey of HBV, HCV and HIV Infections in a Pregnant Women Population in Central Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Parallel and overlapping of HBV, HCV and HIV infections in pregnant women is a major public health problem. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the parallel and overlapping infections of HBV, HCV and HIV among pregnant women population in Keffi, Central Nigeria between June through August 2019. Four hundred (400) women blood specimens were collected from major Hospitals in Keffi for the study after informed consent and ethical approval were retrieved and a structured questionnaire was administered to each women before sample collection. Specimens were analyzed for HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-HIV antibodies using rapid test kits according to the manufacturer's instructions. Information obtained were statistically analysed using SSP version 2.80 and any P values less than 0.05 were reflected statistically significant. Out of the 400 women screened, there was overlapping infections of 11 (2.8%), 6 (1.5%) and 3 (0.8%) for HBV/HCV, HBV/HIV and HCV/HIV respectively. Parallel infections were 22 (5.5%), 12 (3.0%) and 14 (3.5%) for HBV, HCV and HIV. Only educational status was statistically related to HCV infection (p < 0.05). Those women that were below 20-years-old had the highest prevalence of HBV and HIV, meanwhile, women aged > 51 years recorded the highest prevalence for infection due to HCV. The parallel and overlapping HBV, HCV and HIV infections reported in this study is a stimulant for more proactive measures towards eliminating these viruses among pregnant women in Nigeria.

Molecular Characterization of Hepatitis B Virus among HIV Positive and HIV Negative Pregnant Antenatal Women in Federal Capital Territory Abuja Hospital

“…Ranges of 2% to 15% prevalence of HBV among pregnant women have been reported in Nigeria [24]. In contrast to our findings on similar research studies carried out in other part of Nigeria, the following reported a high prevalence rate of HBV infection (19.8%), among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic at Federal Medical Center, Keffi, North-Central Nigeria 16.6% among patients attending a tertiary hospital in Jalingo at Ibadan 16.3% and 14.6% in Bauchi, North-Eastern Nigeria [19,[25][26][27]. A pooled prevalence of 13.6% for adults and 11.5% for children from another study conducted in Nigeria [28].…”

Triple infections of HBV, HCV and Malaria Plasmodium falciparum among HIV-infected Individuals in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

“…Similarly, the combined HIV/HBV/HCV prevalence reported byShrestha et al (2021) in a systematic review study of Nepal from 1990 to 2020 was 1.3%. In Eastern Nepal, 2.53% of cases of HIV/HBV/HCV triple infections were reported by Shrestha et al in 2022.It is essential to note the increased prevalence of HBV and HCV dual infection in this study compared to prior studies(Oti et al, 2021). Furthermore, these studies have shown that triple HIV/HBV/HCV infections or dual HIV/HBV/HCV infections are the most prevalent.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, there is no information on the relationship between CD4 When compared to the WHO norm, we discovered that the overlapping infections of HIV/HBV/Plasmodium falciparum, HIV/HCV/Plasmodium falciparum, HIV/HBV/HCV, and HIV/HBV/HCV/Plasmodium falciparum were 2.9%, 1.9%, 1.9%, and 1.0%, respectively (Oti et al, 2021). Chronic HCV carriers' interactions with malaria parasites may prevent the latter from spreading, which may aid in developing novel malaria treatment strategies (Gasim & Adam, 2015).…”

“…These pathogens' overlap is a signi cant health concern(Gomez & Hope, 2015;Oti et al, 2021). However, more research is required on the seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, and malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) among HIV-positive patients in Nigeria.…”