Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus among pregnant women attending Antenatal care in Dilla University Referral Hospital Gedio Zone, Ethiopia; health facility based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction A pregnancy that has been complicated with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection results in typical management problems for both the mother and the newborn. One of the universal efforts in tackling the impact of chronic HBV is the prevention of mother-to-child transmission during Antenatal care via prompt screening as the majority of chronic infections globally harbored during this period. Rewarding result have been achieved in reducing this problem at this period of life through maternal screening programs and universal vaccination of infants. This study was aimed at assessing the seroprevalence and associated risk factor of HBV among pregnant women attending Antenatal Care (ANC) in Dilla University Referral Hospital (DURH), Southern Ethiopia. Method A facility- based cross- sectional study was conducted from December 01 to May 30, 2017 among pregnant women attending ANC. A total of 236 pregnant women were included in this study. All Pregnant women who were attending antenatal clinic and were volunteer during the study period were included, whereas those women who were unable to communicate due to any problem, and not volunteer to give informed consent were excluded. Volunteer participants were asked to complete a questionnaire and had offered to test for HBsAg infection. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 software. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. Results From 215 pregnant women attending ANC, the prevalence of HBsAg by the rapid test was found to be 11 (5.1%). Among the study participants, 91.1% (215) were tested for HIV antibody during the ANC visit, with the positivity rate of 4.5%. The result showed 1.86% of the study participants who were tested for HIV were also positive for HBsAg. Among those factors affecting the transmission of HBV infection, multiple partners and HIV confection have significant association at P-value less than 0.05. Conclusion The Seropositivity of Hepatitis B Virus among Pregnant Women was found to be significant and hence, routine screening of pregnant mother at Antenatal care for this virus, and subsequent management according to the guideline for both the mother and child is recommended.

High Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Virus Infections among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in Borumeda General Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia

“…A cross-sectional study in Tanzania also reported consistent HBV infection rates among pregnant women [ 33 ]. Some other research findings in Ethiopia and abroad revealed that the seroprevalence of HBV among the same study subjects was lower than that of the current study [ 6 , 13 , 19 , 20 , 34 ]. On the contrary, some other studies showed higher HBV infection rate among different population groups and among pregnant mothers.…”

“…Mother-to-child transmission of HBV, which might be via intrauterine transmission, is a common phenomenon and causes chronic infection of the virus [10]. The seroprevalence of HBV among pregnant women in Ethiopia ranges from 4.5% to 7.9%, that is in line with intermediate level of endemicity of the virus [11][12][13][14][15]. In most studies done in Ethiopia, the seroprevalence of HCV was lower than HBV and it ranges from 0.26% to 8.07% [9,[15][16][17].…”

“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, in the year 2019, there were 1.5 million new cases of chronic hepatitis B and C infection each in the globe [4]. The overall prevalence of HBV among general population and blood donors in 13 European Union countries between the years 2005 and 2015 was 0.9%; besides, this report also showed a slightly higher rate of HCV [5].…”

Prevalence and Determinants of Hepatitis B Virus Antigenemia among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics in Some Hospitals in Bauchi Metropolis

“…In this study, 52.2% of the pregnant HBV-positive women are co-infected with HIV/AIDS. Atalay et al [14] reported that among the pregnant women who participated in their study, 215 (91.1%) were screened for HIV on their antenatal visit, where 4.5% were positive and 1.86% for HBsAg. As in our findings, their study also found a significant relationship between the factors influencing the rate of transmission of HBV infection and HIV confection.…”

“…Some pregnant women may likely develop fulminant hepatitis, resulting in massive hepatic necrosis. About 10% of pregnant women positive for Hepatitis B virus infection may be chronic carriers, that can develop liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [13,14]. Viral (serum) hepatitis is responsible for a significant number of liver diseases globally and infected individuals can remain asymptomatic for many years.…”