Sero-prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen amongst pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic, Volta region, Ghana


Submitted: 31 July 2016
Accepted: 11 January 2017
Published: 19 January 2017
Abstract Views: 1904
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Authors

  • Arnold Luuse Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
  • Sylvester Dassah Navrongo Health Research Centre, Navrongo, Upper East, Ghana.
  • Sylvester Lokpo Ho Municipal Hospital, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana.
  • Louise Ameke Ho Municipal Hospital, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana.
  • Mark Noagbe Ho Municipal Hospital, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana.
  • Peter Adatara School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
  • Oheneba Hagan Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medical Science University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
  • Fred Binka University of Health and Allied Science, School of Public Health, Hohoe, Ghana.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a global challenge, although there is currently a safe and effective vaccine available. HBV prevalence in Ghana is not well documented, but vary regionally from 4.8% to 12.3% in the general population, 10.8% to 12.7% in blood donors and about 10.6% in pregnant women. This puts Ghana among the high endemic countries in Africa. The study objective was to determine the sero-prevalence of HBs antigen (Ag) and HBeAg among pregnant women in the Ho municipality. Two hundred and eight participants (pregnant women), attending Ho Municipal antenatal clinic were enrolled into the study. This study recorded a HBsAg seroprevalence rate of 2.4% among the pregnant women, with primigravida pregnant women recording (0.98%) and multigravida (1.42%). The prevalence of HBsAg among the pregnant women can be classified as Low Intermediate; therefore there is still the need for routine screening of pregnant women during antenatal visits. Amongst HBsAg positives, HBeAg positivity was significantly high (40% of all HBsAg positive women), which suggests high chances of carrier and vertical transmission (mother to child) state.

Luuse, A., Dassah, S., Lokpo, S., Ameke, L., Noagbe, M., Adatara, P., Hagan, O., & Binka, F. (2017). Sero-prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen amongst pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic, Volta region, Ghana. Journal of Public Health in Africa, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/jphia.2016.584

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