DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i03.075

Pages: 1404-1410

Hepatitis B virus infection remains a public health problem in Nigeria. It is a major cause of morbidity and consequent mortality, especially in developing countries. Routine universal vaccination of all persons has been established in several countries of high and intermediate endemicity. There is neither a screening policy in our environment nor routine vaccination or measures to protect the at risk population. The objectives of this study were to determine the sero-prevalence of hepatitis B infection, rate of screening for HBsAg in pregnancy and the complications of hepatitis B infection in pregnancy at UCTH, Calabar. This prospective cross-sectional study of 300 women admitted for delivery was conducted at UCTH, Calabar. A pretested questionnaire was used to the data on socio-demographic profile, previous vaccination, screening for HBsAg during the antenatal clinic and complications of hepatitis B in pregnancy. Blood sample was collected from each consented woman and the serum tested for the presence of HBsAg using rapid ELISA test Kits in the laboratory of the hospital. After delivery, other information on birth weight, Apgar scores and postpartum haemorrhage were obtained. All the data were analyzed using microsoft SPSS version 17 statistical program.Out of the 300 women studied, HBsAg was detected in 14 women, giving a sero-prevalence rate of 4.7%. Among the participants, only 60.56% were screened for HBsAg during the antenatal period, while 39.44% were not screened for HBsAg. A total of 17(5.7%) of the women had low birth weight; of these 1 was sero-positive to HbsAg and was not statistically significant (p=0.7576).