Awareness and Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Pregnant Women in Nigeria: A National Pilot Cross-Sectional Study

Research Square (Research Square)(2021)

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Abstract Background: Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) may constitute one of the viral hepatitis with high burden in Nigeria, there is no national data on its awareness and burden among pregnant women to justify its routine screening. Objectives: To investigate awareness, seroprevalence and risk factors for HCV infection among pregnant women in Nigeria.Methods: A total of 159 pregnant women from antenatal clinics across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria consented to anti-HCV testing by third generation ELISA and confirmed using polymerase chain reaction technique. Confirmed HCV positive women were further tested for hepatitis B and HIV. The women were evaluated for the presence of known risk factors for HCV infection. Odds ratios (ORs), adjusted ORs (aORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined and p-values of <0.05 were considered significant.Findings: Of the 159 participants, 77 (48.4%; 95% CI, 38.2% to 60.5%) were aware of HCV infection and awareness of HCV was associated with participants’ young age (OR=2.21; 95%CI=1.16 to 4.21), high educational level (OR=3.29; 95%CI=1.63 to 6.64) and participants’ occupation (OR=0.51; 95%CI=0.26 to 0.99). In multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for confounders, the association between awareness of HCV and participants’ young age (aOR=1.60; 95%CI=1.09 to 2.35; p=0.018) and high educational level (aOR=1.48; 95%CI=1.17 to 1.86;p=0.001)remained significant. HCV seroprevalence was found to be 1.3% (95%CI=0.2% to 4.5%). All (100.0%, 95%CI=12.1 to 100.0%) the HCV-positive participants and 99 (63.1%, 95%CI=51.3% to 76.8%) HCV-negative participants had identifiable HCV risk factors. Dual seropositivity of anti-HCV/anti-HIV and anti-HCV/HBsAg each accounted for 1.3% and none of the participants was triply infected or mono-infected with HCV. The more commonly identified risk factors were multiple sexual partners, 25 (15.7%), shared needles, 22 (13.8%), and blood transfusion, 18 (11.3%). The risk factor variables did not have significant association with HCV positive status.Conclusion: There is lack of awareness regarding HCV infection among pregnant women in Nigeria and awareness is positively influenced by young age and high educational level. The prevalence of HCV is high and provides preliminary evidence to justify routine screening in antenatal clinics. There is also a need for enlightenment programs in communities and antenatal clinics. FundingTETFund National Research Fund 2019 (Grant number TETFund/DR&D/CE/NRF/STI/33).
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pregnant women,prevalence,nigeria,cross-sectional
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