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Burden of hepatitis B and C infections among pregnant women in Bauchi, North-eastern Nigeria

Context: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are growing public health concerns and are responsible for most cases of chronic liver disease worldwide. Aims: This study evaluated the prevalence and associated sociocultural factors in HBV and HCV infections among pregnant women in our hospital. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional hospital-based study. Materials and Methods: Two thousand four hundred and sixty-two pregnant women were recruited for the study with a mean age of 26.4 ± 5.6 years. Screening for hepatitis B surface antigen was done using latex rapid agglutination slide tests and samples that were reactive were further confirmed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, Bio-Rad, France). Anti-HCV antibody was evaluated using a third generation ELISA (DRG International Inc., USA). Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). Results: Seroprevalence of HBV and HCV infections in this study was 14.6 and 2.0%, respectively. Percentages of pregnant women who were positive for HBV increased progressively with age. Seroprevalence of HBV was significantly higher among participants with below secondary (20%) than those with secondary and tertiary education (13.1%), P = 0.001. Significant positive correlation was observed between HBV and scarifications (P = 0.001), and negative correlation was observed between educational level and HBV (P = 0.001). Significant positive correlation was seen between previous blood transfusion and HCV (P = 0.002). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of HBV and HCV infections among the participants. HBV and HCV infections are associated with age, scarifications, blood transfusion, low level of education, and multiple sexual partners among the participants. There is a need for infants of HBV-positive mothers to receive hepatitis B immune globulin in addition to hepatitis B vaccine within 12 h of birth.