Sero-survey of Hepatitis B surface antigen amongst pregnant women attending Infectious Disease Hospital Bayara, Bauchi State, Nigeria
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to cause serious health problems in developing countries. Neonatal infection with HBV, which is often acquired during delivery, carries a high risk resulting in persistent infection. This research aims to detect the prevalence of Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg)...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Microbiology research Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 10 - e10 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
02-04-2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to cause serious health problems in developing countries. Neonatal infection with HBV, which is often acquired during delivery, carries a high risk resulting in persistent infection. This research aims to detect the prevalence of Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) among pregnant women in our location of study. One hundred and eighty (180) sera samples were screened among pregnant women aged 13-49, using standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Structured questionnaire were administered to the subjects to obtain demographic and other relevant data. Overall result showed that 31 (17.2%) were found to be positive for HBsAg among the total subjects screened. The highest prevalence was found among those aged 20-29 with 11 (6.1%) seropositivity (x2=7.902; P=0.048). Considering occupational distribution of volunteer subjects, a high prevalence of 12 (6.7%); P<0.05 was recorded among house wives, which shows a measure of significance compared to other women screened. Furthermore, based on various risk factors subjects with history of surgery and use of unsterilized sharp instruments recorded 15 (8.3%) prevalence (P=0.233; P>0.05). How ever, women in their second trimester of pregnancy recorded a higher prevalence of 23 (12.8%):(P=0.080; P<0.05). This study therefore emphasizes the public health importance of HBV among pregnant women and equally suggests that children born to women with Hepatitis B Virus, be closely monitored for infection beyond the one and the half years of age, this also calls for a proper enlightenment on the dangers posed by the virus, while a well designed vaccination schedule is advocated among the general population. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2036-7473 2036-7481 |
| DOI: | 10.4081/mr.2012.e10 |