Prevalence of Hepatitis C in Pregnant Women at Tertiary Care Hospital
Hajira, Shahana Atiq, Zakkia Khan, Radhia Khan, Amjad Hussain, Ghazala Shaheen, Tahira Shamim, Laila Sumreen
1069
ABSTRACT
Background: Hepatitis caused by viruses is a serious worldwide
health issue that affects 2 to 15 million individuals annually. HCV-infected
mothers give birth to an approximately 40,000 children annually, resulting in
up to 4000 additional perinatal infected offspring
Methodology: This was cross sectional study carried out at Obstetrics
and Gynaecology, Department, Women and Children Hospital, Charsadda for aperiod
of six months from August 2021 to January 2022. Totally 300 pregnant women were
included in our study. Blood samples were taken from all the participants and
sent to hospital diagnostic laboratory for the diagnosis of hepatitis C virus
through immune-chromatographic technique. All the data analysis was carried out
by using IBM SPSS version 20.
Results: The mean age in our study was 33.12 years with
standard deviation of ± 4.11. In our study, hepatitis C virus prevalence was
8.66% (n=26) in pregnant women. In our study, 17 (18.18%) of the HCV positive
subjects were observed in age group 18-25 years. While the HCV positive
subjects observed in age group 26-35 years, 36-45 years were 6 (4%) and 2
(3.33%) respectively.
Conclusion: Our study concludes that the prevalence of hepatitis C
amongst pregnant women was 8.66%. Despite the fact that the incidence of
hepatitis C was shown to be lower among pregnant females visiting tertiary care
hospitals, regular anti-HCV antibody testing of all pregnant females is
strongly recommended for prompt identification of illness in mothers and
to prevent their transmission to newborns.
Keywords: Prevalence; Hepatitis C; Pregnant Women
ABSTRACT
Background: Hepatitis caused by viruses is a serious worldwide
health issue that affects 2 to 15 million individuals annually. HCV-infected
mothers give birth to an approximately 40,000 children annually, resulting in
up to 4000 additional perinatal infected offspring
Methodology: This was cross sectional study carried out at Obstetrics
and Gynaecology, Department, Women and Children Hospital, Charsadda for aperiod
of six months from August 2021 to January 2022. Totally 300 pregnant women were
included in our study. Blood samples were taken from all the participants and
sent to hospital diagnostic laboratory for the diagnosis of hepatitis C virus
through immune-chromatographic technique. All the data analysis was carried out
by using IBM SPSS version 20.
Results: The mean age in our study was 33.12 years with
standard deviation of ± 4.11. In our study, hepatitis C virus prevalence was
8.66% (n=26) in pregnant women. In our study, 17 (18.18%) of the HCV positive
subjects were observed in age group 18-25 years. While the HCV positive
subjects observed in age group 26-35 years, 36-45 years were 6 (4%) and 2
(3.33%) respectively.
Conclusion: Our study concludes that the prevalence of hepatitis C
amongst pregnant women was 8.66%. Despite the fact that the incidence of
hepatitis C was shown to be lower among pregnant females visiting tertiary care
hospitals, regular anti-HCV antibody testing of all pregnant females is
strongly recommended for prompt identification of illness in mothers and
to prevent their transmission to newborns.
Keywords: Prevalence; Hepatitis C; Pregnant Women