Lymphocyte Transformation of Hepatitis B Virus Infected Pregnant Women, Attending Specialist Hospital Sokoto

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa with high morbidity and mortality. Vertical transmission is a significant contributor of new cases. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV infection, to assess the immune competence of Hepatitis B (HB) viral infected pregnant women using lymphocyte transformation. It was a cross sectional comparative observational study. Simple random sampling technique was applied. One hundred HB infected pregnant women and one hundred controls were recruited. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 23) software. A P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The results recorded showed a prevalence of 6.6%. The percentage lymphocyte transformation was significantly lower (p < 0.05) for HBV infected subjects compared with control. The rate of lymphocyte transformation with Phytohaemagglutinin was significantly lower (p < 0.05) when compared with Concanavalin A. Conclusively HB infection affects the adaptive immune response. Pregnant women should be screened for Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) during routine Antenatal clinic and Concanavalin A based drugs should be recommended for HB infected pregnant women.