Seroprevalence and Genotype profile of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Antenatal Attendees in ABU Teaching Hospital Zaria, Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Nigeria like other sub-Saharan Africa countries falls among WHO hyper-endemic region for hepatitis B virus infection and with prevalence greater than 8%. It’s been found out that in hyperendemic regions, the major route of acquisition of this virus is by mother-to-child transmission at the time of birth or infancy. Newborns that contract the infection have about 90% risk of developing chronic HBsAg carriage and 25% risk of chronic liver diseases. The genotype of Hepatitis B virus determines its mode of trans-mission, geographic distribution, clinical outcome, and response to antiviral therapy. Aim: This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence and genotype profile of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. Material and Method: A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted among 192 pregnant women at the antenatal booking clinic of ABUTH, Zaria from August 2017 to January 2018. Their blood samples were collected and tested for HBsAg with a third generation ELISA kit (Monolisa HBsAg ULTRA, BIORAD, France). The positive samples were analysed using multiplex polymerase chain reaction and agarose gel electrophoresis to determine the virus genotypes. Result: Twenty-nine of the women were positive for HBsAg. Mean age was 26.0±6.1years. About a quarter of them 53 (27.6%) were pregnant for the first time and approximately half of them 100 (5.2.1%) were in their second trimester. About a half of the women were housewives 91 (47.4%), while 39 (20.3%) were employed in the formal sector. The geno-types determined were all recombinant genotypes of A/B/E (75.86%), B/E (17.24%) and B/C/E (3.45%). Conclusion: The seropositivity of hepatitis B virus was high in the studied participants; signifying a potential risk to the unborn generation. This study found multiple recombinant genotypes which are because of mixed infections and may be associated with poor prognosis. Further research is needed in the larger society to confirm the significance of these recombinant genotypes