Antenatal screening for hepatitis B and C virus carrier state at a University Hospital

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) carrier state among pregnant women at gynaecology and obstetrics department of Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad -Sindh. DESIGN: A descriptive study. SETTING: Maternity units of Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad - Sindh from January 2003 to December 2003. METHODS: One hundred and three pregnant women with 35 to 40 weeks of pregnancy admitted in maternity units due to obstetrical reasons were screened for hepatitis B and C seropositivity after they gave informed consent. Immuno- chromatography and ELISA technique were used for blood testing. Pregnant women with symptomatic liver disease were excluded from the study. Convenient sampling approach was adopted for the data collection. RESULTS: Among screened population, 29.1% of pregnant women were found positive for HBV or HCV. Out of these, 16.5% women were positive for HCV where as 12.6% for HBV. All women had history of injections and ear and nose prick where as 20% had positive history of blood transfusions, followed by history of jaundice among them or with their partner. CONCLUSION: In our set up, frequency of 29.1% sero-positivity for HBV and HCV among pregnant women is alarming. These sero-positive mothers are not only at risk of having cirrhosis and liver cancer later on, but also are a continuous threat to their offsprings and care providers. Hence, there is a dire need to conduct more epidemiological studies on this problem and take measures for prevention and control of the disease.