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

ABSTRACT

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. A descriptive study. Maternity units of Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad - Sindh from January 2003 to December 2003. 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. 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. 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