Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Register      Login

VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 6 ( November-December, 2021 ) > List of Articles

Original Article

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Infection among Antenatal Women in a Tertiary Care Center in Eastern UP and Assessment of the Associated High-risk Factors

Reeta Singh, Manisha Chaudhary, Kanchan Shrivastava, Babita Vaswani Agarwal, Shaila Mitra

Keywords : Antenatal, Hepatitis, Mother-to-child transmission, Vaccination

Citation Information : Singh R, Chaudhary M, Shrivastava K, Agarwal BV, Mitra S. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Infection among Antenatal Women in a Tertiary Care Center in Eastern UP and Assessment of the Associated High-risk Factors. J South Asian Feder Obs Gynae 2021; 13 (6):378-381.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10006-1969

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 04-03-2022

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2021; The Author(s).


Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is seen in more than 300 million people worldwide and is a common cause of liver disease and liver cancer. There is a lack of large-scale population-based studies on the prevalence of HBV in India. In endemic areas, HBV infection occurs mainly during infancy and early childhood, with mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) accounting for approximately half of the transmission routes of chronic HBV infections. Immunoprophylaxis to newborns is an excellent way to block natal transmission and hence to decrease the overall carrier rate. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Hep B infection among pregnant females and to identify the high-risk factors. Materials and methods: All pregnant women attending the OPD as well as the emergency OBGY Department of Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College, Gorakhpur, during the period from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and those who came out to be positive were further enrolled as cases in the study. Two hundred and sixty-five HBsAg-negative pregnant women were taken as controls for the study. A detailed history was taken and data analyzed. Results: In our study, the seroprevalence of HBsAg-positive pregnant patients was found to be 1.15% in our study area. Tattooing was found to be a significant risk factor for hepatitis B infection in our study. Those with previous history of parenteral drug use, piercings, and blood transfusions were found to be at an increased risk for hepatitis B infection. Conclusion: Although our area falls in the low endemicity category for hepatitis B, there is a need for routine vaccination against HBV. It is necessary to create awareness on the routes of transmission especially in the rural areas and among the lower socioeconomic classes. Universal screening of all pregnant women for HBV infection is needed in order to prevent the evolution of new carriers.


HTML PDF Share
  1. Prakash V, Prasad N, Prasad D, et al. Hepatitis B virus seroprevalence amongst pregnant women attending antenatal clinics of a tertiary care centre of Bihar. Sch J Appl Med Sci 2020;8(2):409–412. DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2020.v08i02.010.
  2. Sibai P, Mohi MK, Kumar A. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in one of the institute of Northern India. J Clin Diagn Res 2016;10(8):QC08–QC09. DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2016/201614.8299.
  3. Batham A, Narula D, Toteja T, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence of hepatitis B in India. Indian Pediatr 2007;44(9):663–674. PMID: 17921555.
  4. Navabakhsh B, Mehrabi N, Estakhri A, et al. Hepatitis B virus infection during pregnancy: transmission and prevention. Middle East J Dig Dis 2011;3(2):92–102. PMID: 25197539; PMCID: PMC4154922.
  5. Jonas MM. Hepatitis B and pregnancy: an underestimated issue. Liver Int 2009;29(Suppl. 1):133–139. DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-3231. 2008.01933.x.
  6. CDC. Recommendation of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee. Prevention of perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus: prenatal screening of all pregnant women for hepatitis B surface antigen. MMWR 1988;37(22):341–346, 351. PMID: 2967425.
  7. Garg R, Nigam A, Singh S, et al. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen among pregnant women in a tertiary care health center of North India. Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2017;9(2):164–168. DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10006-1484.
  8. Rajendiran S, Gopalan U, Jayakumar K. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in South India. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2017;6(1):249–251. DOI: 10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20164668.
  9. Dwivedi M, Misra SP, Misra V, et al. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B infection during pregnancy and risk of perinatal transmission. Indian J Gastroenterol 2011;30(2):66–71. DOI: 10.1007/s12664-011-0083-y. PMID: 21499863.
  10. Prakash C, Sharma RS, Bhatia R, et al. Prevalence of North India of hepatitis B carrier state amongst pregnant women. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 1998;29(1):80–84. PMID: 9740274.
  11. Luksamijarulkul P, Mooktaragosa A, Luksamijarulkul S. Risk factors for hepatitis B surface antigen positivity among pregnant women. J Med Assoc Thai 2002;85(3):283–288. PMID: 12117015.
  12. Demeke G, Ayalneh GM, Shiferaw AA, et al. Sero-prevalence and associated factors of Hepatitis B virus among pregnant women at North West Ethiopia: an institution-based cross-sectional study. Int J Gen Med 2021;14:2799–2805. PMID: 34194239; PMCID: PMC8238533. DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S320711.
  13. Zenebe Y, Mulu W, Yimer M, et al. Seroprevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus infection among pregnant women in Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross sectional study. BMC Infect Dis 2014;14:118. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2334-14-118.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.