Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus among Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in the General Hospital, Minna, Niger State.

Abstract

Introduction: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B infection among women attending antenatal clinic in General Hospital, Minna, Niger state. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 200 subjects and analyzed using in vitro diagnostic strip designed for the qualitative determination of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) in human serum. Result: Thirteen (6.5%) out of the 200 subjects investigated were found to be positive for hepatitis B infection. On the basis of age, the distribution of HBV infection among the sub- jects revealed that the age group 20-29 has the highest rate of infection of 10.3% followed in descending order by 40-49 (4.5%), 30-39 (4.2%) and 10-19 (0.0%). Conclusion: Infection rate was found to be related to the low level of awareness and the poor standard of living observed among the subjects. The study therefore highlights the need for an intervention through increased awareness, provision of drugs and immunization in the study area.