Comparative prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women accessing free maternal care in a tertiary hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus infection is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, and accounts for a significant proportion of morbidities and mortalities in Ghana. Infection with HBV during pregnancy can result in life-threatening complications to both mother and child. To improve their quality of life, the free maternal care was introduced to grant pregnant women cost-free access to antenatal and postnatal services. The study analysed the prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women receiving free antenatal care in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study, where secondary data of pregnant women who accessed free antenatal services at the Trafalga hospital, Ho, from 2016 to 2017 were retrieved from the hospital’s database. Data on hepatitis B surface antigen reactivity test, age and period of turnout were analysed with Microsoft Excel and Graph pad prism version 6. A total of 2,634 pregnant women assessed free antenatal care from January 2016 –December 2017, with 10% rise in turnout in 2017. The age of the study population was fairly young, ranging from 13–52 years and mean of 29.87±5.83. The prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women in the entire study was estimated to be 6.0%, while that of 2016 and 2017 were 5.3% and 6.7% respectively. Turnout for antenatal services peaked in July, which also recorded the highest prevalence of HBV infection among the pregnant women. Our study, first of its kind show an HBV prevalence of 6.0% among a large population of pregnant women who accessed free antenatal services at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The study evaluates the influence of the free maternal care policy on antenatal attendance and HBV infection rates among pregnant women.

Prevalence and Risk Factor of Hepatitis B among Pregnant Women in Prof. Dr. W. Z. Johannes Hospital Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

“…This study found the prevalence of hepatitis b among pregnant women in Kupang city is consider high, this study was in line with of hepatitis among pregnant women in Jayapura and Sentani with prevalence 13% while the same study in Malang found prevalence is 8% (for anti-HBs positive) (Hasanah Syifa, 2018;Pangulu, 2018). While in other developing country the prevalence of hepatitis b among pregnant women was 6% in Ohana with prevalence 6%, 11.8% in Uganda, and 9.20% in Gambia (Antuamwine et al, 2022;Bayo et al, 2014;Bittaye et al, 2019). This finding shows that the hepatitis infection among pregnant women.…”

Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis B among Women of Childbearing Age in the Kara Region of Togo in 2022

“…In the literature, lower prevalences. 6.0% [16], 6.4% [17], and 4.6% [18] have been reported respectively among pregnant women in 2022 in Ghana, in 2021 in Nigeria and in 2015 in Togo. However, our result is slightly lower than those found in 2017 among women mothers.…”

Prevalence of Hepatitis B Viral Infection in Pregnant Women at the Suhum Municipality, Ghana

“…In Africa, an estimated 60 million cases of HBV were reported in 2020 [3]. Some local communities have reported diverse prevalence among pregnant women in West African countries including Ghana (6%) [4], Nigeria (8%) [5], and Burkina Faso (11.94%) [6]. In an African community, evidence of a decline in awareness and knowledge about HBV has been reported.…”