title: Hepatitis B virus infection amongst pregnant women in North-eastern Nigeria- a call for action.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria. drabolokoba@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Olokoba
authors.forename: F K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Salawu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Danburam
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Olokoba
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Midala
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Badung
authors.forename: Awo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olatinwo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens