Status of seroprevalence of Hepatitis B in pregnant females: a hospital-based study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20195334Keywords:
HBsAg, Hepatitis B, Pregnant women, SeroprevalenceAbstract
Background: India has more than 37 million of HBV carriers and contributes a large proportion of the global burden. The perinatal route is the major route of the transmission. This study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence rate of Hepatits B infection in female of reproductive age group. Since sexual route and perinatal transmission of HBV are major targets to prevent the transmission of the infection, the study focused on pregnant females attending antenatal care (ANC) clinic of the hospital.
Methods: This was a retrospective observational study. The cohort enrolled for the study was pregnant females who attended the antenatal care clinic of a tertiary care hospital situated in Delhi. The blood sample was collected as a part of routine screening for HBV infection and the samples were tested for HBsAg by qualitative indirect ELISA. The study period was March to Sept 2019.
Results: 7163 pregnant females were enrolled in the study and 113 were sero-positive for HBsAg. The seroprevalence of HBsAg was 1.6% (113/ 7163). The highest prevalence was found in the age group of 31-35 year (2.7%).
Conclusions: As observed in the present study, the sero-prevalence rate of HBV infection in pregnant females is 1.6%, this rate amounts to nearly 4 million HBV infected women in the reproductive age and yearly putting 4 lakhs babies at risk of acquiring HBV infections by vertical transmission. The successful implementation of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Program is the need of the hour to protect every child from acquiring HBV infection.
References
World Health Organization. Global Hepatitis Report 2017. Available at: https://www.who.int/hepatitis/ publications/global-hepatitis-report2017/en/.
Puri P. Tackling the Hepatitis B disease burden in India. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2014;4(4):312-9.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Technical guidelines for diagnosis and management of Hepatitis B, 2019. Available at: https://mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/Technical%20and%20Operational%20_LOW%20RISE.pdf.
Ray G. Current scenario of hepatitis B and its treatment in India. J Clin Transl Hepatol. 2017;5(3):277-96.
Verma R, Khanna P, Prinja S, Rajput M, Chawla S, Bairwa M. Hepatitis B vaccine in national immunization schedule: a preventive step in India. Hum Vaccin. 2011;7(12):1387-8.
John TJ. Hepatitis B Immunization in Public Health Mode in India. Indian Pediatr. 2014;51(11):869-70.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. National viral hepatitis control program, Operational guidelines 2018. Available at: https://www.nhp.gov.in/national-viral-hepatitis-control-program-(nvhcp)_pg.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. National Action Plan Combating Viral Hepatitis in India, 2019. Available at: https://mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/National%20Action%20Plan_Lowress_Reference%20file.pdf.
Geeta MG, Riyaz A. Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Infection. Indian Pediatr. 2013;50:189-92.
Pande C, Sarin SK, Patra S, Bhutia K, Mishra SK, Pahuja S, et al. Prevalence, risk factors and virological profile of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in pregnant women in India. J Med Virol. 2011;83(6):962-7.
Nayak NC, Panda SK, Zuckerman AJ, Bhan MK, Guha DK. Dynamics and impact of perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus in North India. J Med Virol. 1987;21:137-45.
Mittal SK, Rao S, Rastogi A, Aggarwal V, Kumari S. Hepatitis B: potential of perinatal transmission in India. Trop Gastroenterol. 1996;17:190-2.
Prakash C, Sharma RS, Bhatia R, Verghese T, Datta K. Prevalence of North India of hepatitis B carrier state amongst pregnant women. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 1998;29:80-4.
Abass F, Thomas RD, Rajkumar A, Gupta N, Puliyel JM. Controlling perinatally acquired hepatitis B. Indian J Pediatr. 2001;68:365.
Sibia P, Mohi MK, Kumar A. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in one of the institutes of Northern India. J Clin Diagn Res. 2016;10(8):8-9.
Garg R, Nigam AK, Singh S, Singh R, Singh S, Rani R, Malhotra J. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen among pregnant women in a tertiary care health center of North India. J South Asian Feder Obst Gynae. 2017;9(2):164-8.
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):249-51.
Directorate General of Health Services. National Health Profile 2018. Central Bureau of Health Intelligence; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Available at: http://www.cbhidghs.nic.in/ WriteReadData/l892s/Before%20Chapter1.pdf.
