Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Hepatitis E Virus Infection among Pregnant Women in Selected Health Facilities of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2015-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is highly endemic in several African countries with high
mortality rate among pregnant women. The prevalence of antibodies to HEV in Ethiopian
pregnant women is not known. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG and
anti-HEV IgM among pregnant women seen between April 2014 to January 2015 in Gandhi
Memorial Hospital and four selected Health centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Material and methods: A total of 386 serum samples were collected from pregnant women. All
pregnant women socio demographic characteristics were collected using a structured
questionnaire form. Serum samples were examined for anti-HEV IgG and anti- HEV IgM using
ELISA. The association of anti-HEV status with risk factors was assessed. Factors demonstrating
significant association in bivariate analysis were included in multivariate logistic regression
models. Analyses were performed using SPSS version 21.
Results: From 386 women, 122 (31.6%) cases were positive for anti- HEV IgG and two women
(0.5%) were anti-HEV IgM positive. Age and educational had statistically significant association
with HEV infection. There was no significant association between anti-HEV antibody
seroprevalence rate with trimester, parity, HIV status and other risk factors.
Conclusion: Conclusion: This study found a high seroprevalence rate of anti-HEV IgG among
pregnant women in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Preventive measures like improvement of education
in personal and public hygiene may reduce the risk in pregnant women. Moreover nationwide
surveillance of HEV especially in rural setting should be conducted to establish a national
estimate and validate our findings.
Keywords: Seroprevalence, Hepatitis E virus, pregnant women, Addis Ababa Ethiopia
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Keywords
Seroprevalence, Hepatitis E virus, pregnant women