ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B infection remains a significant source of morbidity among women and infants at different levels of care particularly in developing countries. AIM: To determine the prevalence of hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in tertiary and non-tertiary health facilities. MATERIALS & METHODS: Women receiving antenatal care in a tertiary centre and 2 non-tertiary centres in Ibadan. Nigeria were consecutively screened for Hepatitis B surface antigen by the ELISA method following written informed consent. The results were entered with socio-demographic and obstetric data into a proforma and significant associations determined by chi-square test and logistic regression (p < 0.05). RESULTS: A total of 658 women were recruited; 389 were from the tertiary hospital while 259 were from nontertiary health facilities. The mean age of the whole population was 30.17 +/- 5.24 years while the median gestational age was 27 weeks. Majority of the participants (64.5%) were between 26 and 35 years. The total prevalence of Hepatitis B infection was 16.3%. Prevalence of hepatitis B infection was 30.9% in the non-tertiary health facilities and 6.4% in the tertiary health facility (p = 0.000).The only significant positive predictor variable for hepatitis B infection was being in a non-tertiary health facility (OR: 0.086 CI: 0.037-0.199, p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The burden ofAntenatal hepatitis B infection in Ibadan may be significantly greater in nontertiary health facilities. Health policy, particularly in these centres, should be directed towards education, screening and vaccination programmes.
