Prevalence of Hepatitis B and D Antibodies among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B and D antibodies among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti. Structured questionnaires were administered to obtain their socio- demographic data. The study made use of consecutive sampling design. A total of 350 pregnant women between the ages 18 and 44 years were examined for the presence of hepatitis B using HbsAb rapid kit and presence of both HBV and HDV were confirmed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Liver enzymes of ELISA positive subjects were assayed. This study found the prevalence of HBV and HDV among pregnant women to be 7.7% and 0% respectively. There was no significant difference between the prevalence of HBV antibodies as related to their ages when screened with ELISA. Although more positive results were recorded between ages 18 – 34 when compared to other age groups, there was significant association in their age difference, (P = 0.007). Of the subjects that tested positive to HBV antibody, 2 (10%) were recorded to have raised liver enzymes. However, three 3 (15%) out of the ELISA-confirmed positive samples were at the upper limit of normal. The kit’s specificity, sensitivity, positive prevalence and negative prevalence values were: 100%, 74%, 100% and 72% respectively. This study shows that screening with ELISA for hepatitis B is much more viable than that of rapid kit and has a significant effect on the liver enzymes when tested positive. The study therefore suggests that health workers should always confirm all negative results using ELISA method.