10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are viruses present in the blood and can be transmitted from mothers to their children, posing significant health challenges among pregnant women in Africa. This research determined the prevalence of Hepatitis and co-infection with HIV and the presence of tumor markers among pregnant women attending selected Health facilities in Ekiti State. Aseptic collection of 5 ml venous blood samples was performed on each pregnant woman through vein puncture and analyzed using standard procedures. Alpha Feto Protein (AFP) and Alanine Transaminase (ALT) were tumor markers used to examine the blood samples that reacted to HBsAg. Statistical analyses were used to determine the association between the disease prevalence and other demographic parameters. An overall prevalence of HBV, HIV and HCV was found to be 4.58% (21), 2.40% (11), and 0% (0) respectively among the 438 pregnant women sampled. HBV is significantly associated with the marital status of the women while HIV is significantly associated with marital status and gestational age of the women. Age, education, and occupation of the pregnant women showed no significant association with either HBsAg or HIV (P>0.05). The highest prevalence was recorded among the age group 26-32 years; married women with secondary education that resides in the urban area and those in their third trimester. There were no observed cases of co-infection between Hepatitis and HIV. There was no statistically significant difference in mean AFP or ALT levels across age groups among both HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative individuals. Similarly, gestational age did not significantly influence AFP or ALT levels. Normal AFP levels were observed in 18 (85.71%) patients, while elevated AFP levels were present in only 3 (14.29%). This distribution was statistically significant (χ² = 10.714, p = 0.001). In contrast, abnormal ALT levels were found in 16 (76.19%) patients compared to 5 (23.81%) with normal ALT with a significant difference (p = 0.016). Findings indicate that ALT is a more reliable marker of liver involvement than AFP in this study. The high prevalence of infection recorded indicates the necessity for improved and continuous awareness on the risk factors, tests and early treatment to prevent vertical transmission to the unborn babies.