ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Human Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a DNA virus, transmitted through respiratory secretions, hand-to-mouth-contact, blood transfusion and trans-placental transfer. It causes high mortality and morbidity in pregnant women, thus contributing to poor maternal and child health. B19V has been neglected due to dearth of epidemiological data. The aim of this study was to determine the sero-prevalence of Human Parvovirus B19 antibodies among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled pregnant women attending Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti from January to May 2019 to obtain sero-epidemiological data. One hundred and twenty-two (122) consenting pregnant women were enrolled following institutional ethical approval. They were administered structured questionnaire and venous blood was collected in plain tubes for serum extraction. Sera samples were analyzed for IgG and IgM antibodies using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method. Percentages, median, chi-square and multivariate analysis were carried out using SPSS version 17. RESULTS: The prevalence of IgG was 44.3% (54/122), IgM 41.8% (51/122), and IgG/IgM 28.7% (35/122) leaving 55.7% (68/122) of the population uninfected. The median age of participants was 22 (Interquartile range 18-25) years among which 36-45years had the highest prevalence which was not statistically significant (p=0.09 X 2 =4.75). There was association between miscarriage, still birth, history of blood transfusion and prevalence of Human Parvovirus B19 (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: There is a high Prevalence of B19V among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in this study. This underscores the need for testing and immunization of pregnant women against B19V.
ABSTRACT
Clusters of differentiation (CDs) are membrane proteins expressed on cells of the immune system and are associated with parasitic infection. Most of the work on CD expressions to helminth infection has mainly been on mouse model. Thus there is a dearth of information on the influence of Ascaris lumbricoides to CD expressions in human blood. White blood cell (WBC), eosinophil and platelet numbers were estimated alongside their CD14, CD40 and CD130 concentrations in A. lumbricoides-infected human subjects. Similarly, serum CD levels in relation to Ascaris-infected and helminth co-infected with healthy controls were estimated. The relationship between Ascaris load and CD profile was also shown. Our data indicated that >6 eosinophil-counts group expressed raised mean level of CD14 with a highly depressed mean CD40. Furthermore, mean CD40 for individuals with low platelet count was highly depressed. Additional analysis of infected vs control and the correlation of CD levels with parasite load showed null effect of A. lumbricoides on CD14 and CD40 expressions. Meanwhile, CD130 was raised as platelet number and parasite load increased. Thus the involvement of CD130 in the immuno-pathology of Ascariasis is likely. CD130 could therefore be a marker of infection and a potential target for improved anthelminthic therapy.
