Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of hepatitis B virus among pregnant women in southern Ethiopia: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major blood-borne and sexually transmitted infectious agent that is a significant global public health issue. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of HBV among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of the Hawassa University referral hospital in Ethiopia.METHODS:A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May, 2015. A total of 269 consecutive pregnant women attending antenatal consultations were enrolled. Sociodemographic information and data regarding possible risk factors were collected using a structured questionnaire. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening was performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the data were analyzed.RESULTS:The overall seroprevalence of HBsAg among the 269 participants enrolled in the study was 7.8% (n=21). The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was 5.2% (n=14), of whom two participants (14.2%) were also positive for HBsAg. Study participants with no formal education (odds ratio [OR], 3.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27 to 10.68; p<0.05) were more likely to be infected with HBV than those who had completed at least secondary school. Although HBsAg was detected more often in pregnant women who had multiple exposure factors (8.8%, n=13) than in pregnant women who had not experienced possible risk factors (4%, n=1), this difference was not statistically significant (OR, 2.33; 95%CI, 0.29 to 18.63).CONCLUSIONS:A high prevalence of HBV infection was detected in the study population. Neither the type of risk factors nor exposure to multiple risk factors was significantly associated with HBV infection. Hence, screening pregnant women regardless of risk factors and improving awareness of the transmission routes of HBV within this group may reduce the risk of HBV infections.

Hepatitis B and C viruses’ infection and associated factors among pregnant women in the Amhara region, Ethiopia: implications for prevention of vertical transmission.

“…This is in line with studies done in Addis Ababa and Arba Minch, Ethiopia [4,24]. However, this is contrary to other studies [39,40]. The observed differences might be due to variations in sample size of study participants, safety precaution, and culture.…”

“…However, our ndings are higher than those of studies done in the east Wolega zone 2.4%, Dawuro 3.5%, Addis Ababa 3%, Eritrea 3.2%, Germany 0.48%, Turkey 2.1%, and China 3.2% [28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. On the other hand, our ndings are lower than those studies done in Dire Dewa 8.4%, Mekele 8%, Hawasa 7.8%, Yirgalem 7.2%, Gambella 7.9%, Harar 6.9%, Tigray 5.5%, Gambia 9.2%, Tazania 8.03%, Cameroon 6.6%, and Ghana 12.9% [16,18,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. There is a variation among the prevalence's of our study with the studies that were conducted around the globe.…”

Factors Associated with Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seropositivity among Pregnant Women in Kigali, Rwanda: A Cross Sectional Study

“…Most of the studies report the mean age of the study subjects to be between 25 to 28 years [37,38]. This is expected because majority of women in the child bearing age are in their twenties.…”

An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of hepatitis B virus in Ethiopia

“…All the included studies were cross-sectional study designs and the most recent was conducted in 2019. Regarding regional coverage of HBV prevalence studies, more than half of the studies were obtained from Amhara region [80] 2016 Somali Blood donor Entire sampling Abera B., et al [79] 2017 Amhara HIV positive children Random sampling Abera B., et al [78] 2014 Amhara Apparently healthy Random sampling Akalu GT., et al [77] 2016 SAC Healthcare workers Convenient sampling Amsalu A., et al [76] 2018 2018 Amhara Blood donors Consecutive sampling Birku T., et al [67] 2015 Amhara Military personnel Random sampling Bisetegen FS., et al [66] 2016 SNNPR Blood donors Consecutive sampling Chernet A., et al [65] 2017 SNNPR Pregnant women Entire sampling Dabsu R., et al [64] 2014 Oromia Pregnant women Convenient sampling Demsiss W., et al [63] 2018 Amhara Students Random sampling Deressa T., et al [20] 2017 Amhara HIV positive Random sampling Deressa T., et al [62] 2018 Amhara Blood donors Entire sampling Desalegn Z., et al [84] 2013 SAC Healthcare workers Convenient sampling Desalegn Z., et al [83] 2016 Oromia Pregnant women Entire sampling Erena AN., et al [61] 2014 Oromia General population Random sampling G/micheal A., et al [60] 2013 Oromia Healthcare workers Random sampling G/egziabher D., et al [59] 2016 SAC General population Entire sampling G/mariam AA., et al [58] 2019 Amhara Healthcare professional Entire sampling Habte Y., et al [57] 2016 SAC Blood donors Entire sampling Hebo HJ., et al [56] 2019 Oromia Healthcare workers Random sampling Heyredin I., et al [55] 2019 Mixed Blood donors Consecutive sampling Kabato AA., et al [86] 2016 SNNPR Blood donors Entire sampling Kebede W., et al [85] 2017 Oromia Prisoners Random sampling Mekonnen A., et al [54] 2015 SAC Waste handlers Random sampling Mekonnen D., et al [53] 2014 Amhara Diabetes mellitus * Metaferia Y., et al [52] 2016 SNNPR Pregnant women Convenient sampling Mezgebo TA., et al [81] 2018 Tigray Pregnant women * Mohammed Y., et al [51] 20...…”

“…22(36.7%) [20, 29, 31, 36-38, 44, 46, 49, 50, 53, 58, 62, 63, 67-69, 71, 75, 78, 79, 82], Oromia region 12(20%)[32,34, 41,47,48,56,60,61,64,83,85,87], and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR) 9(15%)[30, 43,52,65,66, 70, 74,76,86]. The sample size across the studies was ranged from 108[53] to 35435 [44] obtained from the Amhara region.…”