Hepatitis B Infection among Parturient Women in Peri-Urban Ghana

Abstract

Global evidence suggests that hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection is endemic in Africa and perinatal transmission remains one of the most important modes of HBV transmission in this area. This cross-sectional survey examined the seroprevalence and knowledge of hepatitis B among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic (ANC) in a mission hospital in Ghana. Systematic sampling technique was used to recruit 196 pregnant women. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05 alpha level. The hepatitis B prevalence estimate (hepatitis B surface antigen) was 10.2% (N = 20) and all of the participants were aware of HBV infection. Majority cited media (radio) as their main source of information. Approximately 86% of the participants (N = 168) associated HBV infection with a curse and 88.8% (N = 174) indicated witches and wizards as possible causes of the infection. Those with higher level of school education had high hepatitis B knowledge score (P < 0.01). Implementation of a health education program on the route of hepatitis B transmission is required in the study setting. Also, inclusion of hepatitis B education as part of ANC activities will enable HBV-positive pregnant women to appreciate the need for hepatitis B vaccination of their newborns at birth.

Hepatitis B Prevalence among Pregnant Women in Central and West Nile regions of Uganda: Is there a Need to prioritize Prevention of Mother to Child hepatitis B transmission?

“…It is estimated that 1 in every 10 persons in South Sudan is infected with either HBV or hepatitis C virus (28). Our findings also support recent observations in SSA, where the burden of HBV in pregnant sub-populations remains proportionately high in localities with a high HBV population-level endemicity (29)(30)(31)(32)(33).…”

Knowledge, risk of infection, and vaccination status of hepatitis B virus among rural high school students in Nanumba North and South Districts of Ghana

“…In the Eastern region, 10.6% prevalence was reported among 1500 pregnant women [6]. It was also lower than other prevalence rates reported in Ghana [15,23,24].…”

“…The researchers also reported that 90.5% had heard of HBV but lacked knowledge of transmission routes and prevention methods [23]. A similar study among pregnant women attending antenatal care in a mission hospital in Ghana reported 10.2% HBV prevalence, high awareness, and poor accurate knowledge about HBV [24]. However, no study on HBV knowledge, vaccination status, perceptions, or attitudes was found to have been conducted in the Northern region and more so in the Nanumba North and Nanumba South districts of the region.…”

“To die is better than to tell”: reasons for and against disclosure of chronic hepatitis B status in Ghana

“…In fact, in Ghana, hepatitis B is often misconstrued to be more dangerous than HIV [11], and, in light of the already extensive stigmatisation of PLHIV, it is likely that the associations made between hepatitis B and HIV strengthened our participants' commitment not to disclose their chronic hepatitis B status. The perception that hepatitis B is more dangerous than HIV is driven by a lack of knowledge, often resulting from the provision of inaccurate hepatitis B information by herbal practitioners on various media platforms in Ghana [38]. One common message used by herbal practitioners to attract customers to purchase their products is that hepatitis B is more dangerous than HIV.…”