Ante-natal screening of pregnant women for hepatitis B virus infection in Upper Egypt: A Tertiary Care Center Based Study

Current situation of viral hepatitis in Egypt

An estimated 8-10 million people suffer from viral hepatitis in Egypt. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) are the major causes of viral hepatitis in Egypt as 50% or more of the Egyptian population are already exposed to HAV infection by the age of 15. In addition, over 60% of the Egyptian population test seropositive for anti-HEV in the first decade of life. HEV mainly causes self-limiting hepatitis; however, cases of fulminant hepatitis and liver failure were reported in Egypt. Hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis D virus (HDV) are the main causes of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]) in Egypt. Globally, Egypt had the highest age-standardized death rate due to cirrhosis from 1990 to 2017. The prevalence rate of HBV (1.3%-1.5%) has declined after national infantile immunization. Coinfection of HBV patients with HDV is common in Egypt because HDV antibodies (IgG) vary in range from 8.3% to 43% among total HBV patients. After the conduction of multiple national programs to control HCV infection, a lower rate of HCV prevalence (4.6%) was recently reported. Data about the incidence of HCV after treatment with direct antiviral agents (DAAs) are lacking. An HCC incidence of 29/1000/year in cirrhotic patients after DAA treatment is reported. A higher rate of infiltrative pattern among HCC patients after DAA treatment is also recognized. Viral hepatitis is one of the major public health concerns in Egypt that needs more attention and funding from health policymakers.

Accuracy of HBeAg to identify pregnant women at risk of transmitting hepatitis B virus to their neonates: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) involves neonatal immunoprophylaxis, with a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine and immune globulin, and provision of peripartum antiviral prophylaxis in highly viraemic women. However, access to assays to quantify HBV DNA levels remains inadequate in resource-poor settings. This study was commissioned by WHO and aimed to identify the HBV DNA threshold for MTCT, to assess the sensitivity and specificity of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) testing to identify pregnant women with HBV DNA levels above this threshold, and to predict MTCT of HBV infection on the basis of HBeAg testing.

METHODS

For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, CENTRAL, CNKI, and Wanfang databases for studies of pregnant women with chronic HBV infection without concurrent antiviral therapy, published between Jan 1, 2000, and April 3, 2019. Studies were eligible for inclusion if MTCT in mother-child pairs could be stratified by different levels of maternal HBV DNA during pregnancy, if maternal HBeAg status could be stratified by HBV DNA level, and if the MTCT status of infants could be stratified by maternal HBeAg status during pregnancy. Studies that selected pregnant women on the basis of HBeAg serostatus or HBV DNA levels were excluded. Aggregate data were extracted from eligible studies by use of a pre-piloted form; study authors were contacted to clarify any uncertainties about potential duplication or if crucial information was missing. To pool sensitivities and specificities of maternal HBeAg to identify highly viraemic women and to predict MTCT events, we used the DerSimonian-Laird bivariate random effects model. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42019138227.

FINDINGS

Of 9007 articles identified, 67 articles (comprising 66 studies) met the inclusion criteria. The risk of MTCT despite infant immunoprophylaxis was negligible (0·04%, 95% CI 0·00-0·25) below a maternal HBV DNA level of 5·30 log₁₀ IU/mL (200 000 IU/mL) and increased above this threshold. The pooled sensitivity of HBeAg testing to identify HBV DNA levels of 5·30 log₁₀ IU/mL or greater in pregnant women was 88·2% (83·9-91·5) and pooled specificity was 92·6% (90·0-94·5). The pooled sensitivity of HBeAg testing in predicting MTCT of HBV infection despite infant immunoprophylaxis was 99·5% (95% CI 91·7-100) and pooled specificity was 62·2% (55·2-68·7).

INTERPRETATION

Maternal HBV DNA of 5·30 log₁₀ IU/mL or greater appears to be the optimal threshold for MTCT of HBV infection despite infant immunoprophylaxis. HBeAg is accurate to identify women with HBV DNA levels above this threshold and has high sensitivity to predict cases of immunoprophylaxis failure. In areas where HBV DNA assays are unavailable, HBeAg can be used as an alternative to assess eligibility for antiviral prophylaxis.

FUNDING

World Health Organization.

Prevalence of hepatitis B viruses and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in public hospitals of Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia

Background

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa pregnant women. HBV Infection has high tendency of vertical transmission and have adverse effect on both the mother and child. However, there is no evidence on prevalence of hepatitis B virus among pregnant women in Wolaita Zone. Therefore, this study aims to determine prevalence and associated factors of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant attending Antenatal clinics of public Hospitals of Wolaita Zone.

Method

An institution based cross sectional study was conducted among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics of Wolaita Zone from October—November, 2018. Systematic random sampling was used to get respondents. A pretested, structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic characteristics and other variables. In addition, 5 ml of venous blood was collected from each study participants and serum was tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen. Data was entered to Epidata 3.1 version and exported Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 20.0 for descriptive and logistic regression analysis. All variables in bivariate analysis with p<0.25 were taken to multivariable analysis. P-value and Odds ratio with 95% CI was used to measure the presence and strength of the association respectively.

Result

The prevalence of Hepatitis B surface Antigen among pregnant women was 49(7.3%). History of multiple sexual partners (AOR = 2.675, 95%CI = 1.107–6.463), surgical procedure (AOR = 3.218, 95%CI = 1.446–7.163), genital mutilation (AOR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.407–5.263), and tooth extraction (AOR = 2.049, 95%CI = 1.061–3.956) were statistically associated with HBV.

Conclusion and recommendation

Intermediate endemicity of Hepatitis B Virus (7.3%) was observed among mothers attending antenatal clinics of Wolaita Zone. History of tooth extraction, history of surgical procedure, history of genital mutilation and history multiple sexual partners were factors associated with acquisition of Hepatitis B Virus infection. Therefore, we recommend that the health education programs should be done to avoid traditional and non-sterile tooth extraction methods, female genital mutilation and avoiding having multiple sexual partner and its consequences to community and to raise the awareness of mothers attending antenatal clinics. Facilities should strictly follow sterile procedures in every surgical procedure.