Mother to Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus and Associated Factors at Government Hospitals, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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2024-10-08
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Abstract
Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is a significant global public health issue and is the leading cause of chronic hepatitis, which can ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. This infection is mainly transmitted through blood and is often passed from mother to child. While there is a high prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus infection and mother-to-child transmission among delivering mothers in Ethiopia, there is limited evidence on the prevalence of mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B Virus and its risk factors in the country. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the mother-to-child transmission of the Hepatitis B Virus and its associated risk factors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: A cohort study was carried out at selected government hospitals in Addis Ababa from April 2023 to May 2024 A total of 136 mothers and corresponding cord blood samples were collected and tested for Hepatitis B Virus viral load, by Abbott 2000 real-time, HBsAg, and HBeAg by Cobas e411 Socio-demographic characteristics and risk factor information were gathered through questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, employing logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with mother to child transmission of the Hepatitis B Virus. A significance level of 0.05 was considered. Results: Out of 139 samples, 136(98%) HBV-positive mother-cord blood sample pairs were included. The mean + SD age group was 27+ 4.8 years. Most mothers (97.8%) resided in urban areas, and 46% had primary-level education. Among the mothers,100(73.5%) of mothers had detectable HBV DNA viral load, 12 (8.8%) were positive HBeAg, 90(66.2%) cord blood samples were HBsAg positive, 34(25%) had detectable HBV DNA viral load and 4(2.9%) of were positive for HBeAg. Among the study participants, 25(18.2%) of the mothers had a history of abortion, 30(21.9%) Female Genital Mutilation, and 5(3.6%) of mothers were living with known HBV infected family members. Mother viral load (AOR) =0.184; 95% CI: 0.037-0.899; p-value (0.037) significant predictors of mother-to-child transmission of the Hepatitis B Virus.
Conclusion: In this study, the transmission rate was found (66.2%) and detectable viral load indicates a risk of vertical transmission. Other investigated potential transmission factors did not show significant associations with HBV infection,
Keywords: Hepatitis B virus, Mother-to-child transmission, Viral load, Associated Factor, Ethiopia.