Prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies in pregnant women and their offspring in a tertiary hospital in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The aim of this prospective study was to determine the prevalence of HCV antibodies among pregnant women and their corresponding offspring in a tertiary medical centre in Southwestern Nigeria. Method: Anti-HCV antibodies (anti-HCV antibodies) were analyzed in blood samples from mothers and cord samples from their corresponding offspring using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. The results obtained from the study were expressed in simple percentages. Results: Out of the 272 consenting pregnant women screened for anti-HCV antibodies, 25 (9.2%) of them were positive. As none of the pregnant women had multiple births, screening the 272 cord sera from their offspring for the same antibodies revealed that 3 (1.10%) of them were also positive. Thus, the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in the pregnant women and their offspring were 9.2% and 1.1% respectively. Conclusion: If vertical transmission of HCV were to be based on the acquisition of anti-HCV antibodies alone, the prevalence of vertical transmission from HCV infected mothers to offspring in the study was 12.0%. Further studies on vertical transmission are suggested to include analysis for HCV-RNA quantification in pregnant mothers and their offspring as well as a long-term follow-up of neonates seropositive for HCV markers. Such studies are necessary to justify any recommendations to be made for the purpose of reducing HCV infection through vertical transmission.

Seroprevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis and Co-Infections among Antenatal Women: A Retrospective Case Study at National Hospital Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria

“…The seroprevalence of HBV 10.6%, among the women is higher than previous reports from Nigeria; 8.2% in Yola 18 , and 5% in Niger Delta 19 . It is similar to 3.7% reported in Jimma, Ethiopia 20 .…”

Surveying infections among pregnant women in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

“…[33] The anti-HCV prevalence in this study is also lower than the 1%-2.6% earlier reported in similar studies on pregnant women from the Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire,[3435] two countries in the same West African sub-region with Nigeria. This prevalence rate in this study is also lower than the range of 3.9%-13% reported in pregnant women from the non-West African countries of Tanzania, Egypt, Congo, Malawi and Cameroon.…”

Seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and co-infections among antenatal women in a tertiary institution in South East, Nigeria

“…[ 20 ] In a tertiary medical center in South-West Nigeria where over 90.8% of the women had scarification marks, a seroprevalence of 9.2% was reported. [ 9 ] The differences have also been attributed to the choice of serological tests to determine HCV prevalence especially in developing countries where intercurrent infections contribute to false-positive enzyme immunoassay results. [ 26 ]…”

“…[ 8 ] In South-Western Nigeria, a higher percentage of those with HCV infection had additional risk factors, especially scarification marks. [ 9 ]…”