Background: Hepatitis B Viral (HBV) infection is a potentially fatal infection of public health importance globally. Pregnant women and their unborn children are at risk of this infection due to its mode of transmission especially when in contact with infected body fluids and from mother to child transmission respectively. The prevalence of HBV infection in Nigeria is 13.6%. Aim: To determine the prevalence of HBV infection amongst pregnant women in rural community in southern Nigeria. Methods: This was a retrospective cross sectional study of pregnant women at Ogoni Primary Health Centers and General Hospitals in Southern Nigeria carried over a 4-month period. Serological test results for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) of subjects were retrieved from the laboratories. Permission was gotten from Director of Public Health Rivers State Ministry of Health. The information gotten was analyzed using independent t test, chi square and fisher exact tests. Significance level was set at 0.05. Result: One hundred and eighty-five pregnant women were recruited for the study. The mean age of the antenatal clinic attendees was 28 ± 2 years, the mean gestational age at booking was 25 weeks and the mean parity was 2. Majority had secondary level of education represented by 122 (66%). Fifteen (8.1%) of the pregnant women were positive for Hepatitis B surface antigen. Conclusion: The prevalence of HBV infection was 8.1% in Ogoni southern Nigeria. This is worisome, hence preventive measures including HBV vaccines should be made available to the populace.
Hepatitis B surface antigenemia (HBsAg) among pregnant women in southern Nigeria