title: Hepatitis C virus and HIV co-infection among pregnant women in Rwanda.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a pandemic causing disease; more than 185 million people are infected worldwide. An HCV antibody (Ab) prevalence of 6.0% was estimated in Central African countries. The study aimed at providing HCV prevalence estimates among pregnant women in Rwanda.
  
  
  
  HCV surveillance through antibody screening test among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics was performed in 30 HIV sentinel surveillance sites in Rwanda.
  
  
  
  Among 12,903 pregnant women tested at antenatal clinics, 335 (2.6% [95% Confidence Interval 2.32-2.87]) tested positive for HCV Ab. The prevalence of HCV Ab in women aged 25-49 years was 2.8% compared to 2.4% in women aged 15-24 years (aOR = 1.3; [1.05-1.59]); This proportion was 2.7% [2.37-2.94] in pregnant women in engaged in non-salaried employment compared to 1.2% [0.24-2.14] in those engaged in salaried employment (aOR = 3.2; [1.60-6.58]). The proportion of HCV Ab-positive co-infected with HIV was estimated at 3.9% (13 cases). Women in urban residence were more likely to be associated with HCV-infection (OR = 1.3; 95%CI [1.0-1.6]) compared to those living in rural setting.
  
  
  
  HCV is a public health problem in pregnant women in Rwanda. Few pregnant women were co-infected with HCV and HIV. Living in urban setting was more likely to associate pregnant women with HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box: 7162, Kigali, Rwanda. mutagoma@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mwumvaneza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mutagoma
authors.affiliation: Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box: 7162, Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Balisanga
authors.affiliation: Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box: 7162, Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Dieudonné
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sebuhoro
authors.affiliation: Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box: 7162, Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Aimable
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mbituyumuremyi
authors.affiliation: Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box: 7162, Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Remera
authors.affiliation: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health (CGH), Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA), Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Samuel S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Malamba
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Virology and Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.affiliation: Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box: 7162, Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Sabin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nsanzimana
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D012432:Rwanda / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HIV; HIV-HCV co-infection; Hepatitis C virus; Pregnant women