Seroprevalence of hepatitis-E virus infection among pregnant women at a secondary healthcare facility in Abeokuta, Southwest, Nigeria

Authors

  • Williams E. Ike Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
  • Joy A. Okiye Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
  • Christopher O. Igbokwe Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
  • Amogechukwu J. Ike Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
  • Oluwagbemisola C. Fasuyi Department of Health Sciences and Social Work, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, U.S.A.
  • Augustina O. Oduleye Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51412/psnnjp.2024.09

Keywords:

Abeokuta, Immunosorbent Assay, Enzyme Linked, Hepatitis E virus, Seroprevalence
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Abstract

Background: Recent reports show that approximately 939 million individuals globally have experienced Hepatitis E virus infection, and 15 to 110 million have recent or ongoing HEV infection. This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of Hepatitis E virus infection among pregnant women in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Methods: Blood samples were collected from a cross-section of 230 consenting healthy pregnant women with no history of immuno-suppressive diseases attending Oba-Ademola Maternity Hospital, Abeokuta, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to participants containing sociodemographic information such as age, education, marital status, occupation, parity, and pregnancy trimester. Collected plasma was subjected to the analysis of Hepatitis E Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and M (IgM) using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS version 20.0.

Results: Seroprevalence for anti-HEV IgG and anti-HEV IgM were 7.8% and 4.3% respectively. Seroprevalence of age group 15-19 years was 33.3% for HEVIgM and 0.0% for HEVIgG, 20-24 years was 7.5% for HEVIgG and 2.5% for HEVIgM, 25-29 years was 3.8% and 2.6% for both HEVIgG and IgM respectively. Ages 30-34 was 5.8% for both HEV IgG and IgM while ages 35-<40 was 57.3% for anti-HEV IgG and 6.5% for HEV IgM. Based on education status, those with primary education were 15.0% for HEV IgG and 10.0 for HEV IgM, secondary education was 9.3% for HEV IgG and 4.1% for HEV IgM and tertiary education was 5.3%, and 3.5% for both HEV IgG and IgM. With regards to trimester, in those in their first trimester, 18.5% seroprevalence was recorded for HEV IgG and 11.1% for HEV IgM, second trimester 8.3% for HEV IgG and 6.4% for HEV IgM, also for third trimester 4.3% for HEV IgG, however, no prevalence was recorded for anti-HEV IgM. This study shows a high rate of seroprevalence observed for both anti-HEV IgG and IgM in pregnant women who were in their first trimester.

Conclusion: This study reveals that a significant number of cases in the study area have had exposure to HEVin their life time. 

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Published

2024-04-30

How to Cite

Ike, W. E., Okiye, J. A., Igbokwe, C. O., Ike, A. J., Fasuyi, O. C., & Oduleye, A. O. (2024). Seroprevalence of hepatitis-E virus infection among pregnant women at a secondary healthcare facility in Abeokuta, Southwest, Nigeria. The Nigerian Journal of Pharmacy, 58(1), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.51412/psnnjp.2024.09