Seroprevalance Of Hepatitis E Virus Infection among Pregnant Women Attending Healthcare Centers in Mwanza, Tanzania.
- Mwanza, Tanzania | Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences [CUHAS-Bugando] | 2024.
- 47 Pages Includes References
Abstract:
Introduction: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the important pathogens of public health importance, documented as the most common cause of viral hepatitis in developing countries. HEV has been noted to cause spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, maternal and infant mortality in pregnancy in areas where HEV has been noted. There is no routine vaccination program to vaccinate actively sexual women of child baring age thus making them at great risk of transmitting HEV infection to fetus during pregnancy. Thus, this study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with HEV infections among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Mwanza, Tanzania as to provide the baseline serological evidence of Hepatitis E among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics.
Methodology: A hospital based cross-sectional study involving 200 pregnant women in Mwanza, Tanzania was to be conducted between May to August 2024. Serum samples from pregnant women were tested for HEV antibodies, IgG and IgM, using qualitative immunochromatographic tests. Data entered into the Microsoft excel sheet for clearing and coding then analyzed by using Stata version 15.
Results: The median age [interquartile range; IQR] of the study participants in years was 27[18-42]. The prevalence of HEV antibodies among 200 pregnant women was found to be 0.0%. The factors associated with HEV positivity were not analyzed.
Conclusion: Considering the complications of chronic HEV infections, preventive strategies and appropriate precautions to pregnant women are highly recommended. Also, further and more studies on HEV with large sample size and more specific and sensitive methods in different parts of the country are highly recommended, to monitor the trend of the disease burden.
Wurzburg Road 35, Premises, Post Code: 33102 | P. O. Box 1464 Mwanza, Tanzania | Phone: (255) 28-298-3384 | Fax: (255) 28-298-3386 | Email: vc@bugando.ac.tz | Website: www.bugando.ac.tz