Olokoba A B, Salawu F K, Danburam A, Olokoba L B, Midala J K, Badung L H, Olatinwo Awo
Department of Medicine, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Niger J Clin Pract. 2011 Jan-Mar;14(1):10-3. doi: 10.4103/1119-3077.79232.
It is well known that Hepatitis B virus infection is endemic in Nigeria. Even though studies have been carried out on Hepatitis B virus infection in different parts of Nigeria, and in different sub-groups of individuals, information regarding the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus infection in pregnant women is scanty especially from the North-eastern region of Nigeria. We therefore determined the seroprevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) amongst pregnant women in North Eastern Nigeria.
A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out. The setting was the ante-natal clinic of the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, Nigeria. The duration of the study was from July 2008 to December 2008. Two hundred and thirty-one consecutively recruited pregnant women were screened for Hepatitis B surface antigen. Positive samples were re-tested using ELISA to eliminate false positives. Their biodata were obtained using a questionnaire to establish the presence of possible risk factors such as blood transfusion, surgery, etc. Written informed consent was obtained from each woman.
Out of the 231 pregnant women tested, nineteen of them were seropositive for Hepatitis B virus infection giving an infection rate of 8.2%. Women in the age group 25-29 years had the highest HBV infection rate.
This study confirms a high seroprevalence of Hepatitis B virus infect ion amongst pregnant women. It is recommended that pregnant women should be routinely screened for Hepatitis B virus infection as part of antenatal care services.
众所周知，乙型肝炎病毒感染在尼日利亚呈地方性流行。尽管已经在尼日利亚不同地区以及不同亚组人群中对乙型肝炎病毒感染进行了研究，但关于尼日利亚孕妇中乙型肝炎病毒感染患病率的信息却很匮乏，尤其是来自尼日利亚东北部地区的信息。因此，我们测定了尼日利亚东北部孕妇中乙型肝炎表面抗原（HBsAg）的血清流行率。
开展了一项基于医院的横断面研究。研究地点是尼日利亚约拉联邦医疗中心的产前诊所。研究持续时间为2008年7月至2008年12月。对连续招募的231名孕妇进行了乙型肝炎表面抗原筛查。对阳性样本使用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）进行重新检测以排除假阳性。通过问卷调查获取她们的生物数据，以确定是否存在输血、手术等可能的风险因素。每位女性均获得了书面知情同意。
在接受检测的231名孕妇中，有19人乙型肝炎病毒感染血清学呈阳性，感染率为8.2%。年龄在25 - 29岁组的女性乙型肝炎病毒感染率最高。
本研究证实孕妇中乙型肝炎病毒感染的血清流行率较高。建议将孕妇常规筛查乙型肝炎病毒感染作为产前护理服务的一部分。
