• Garba Umar Mustapha, Abdulrasul Ibrahim, Muhammad Shakir Balogun, Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo, and Aisha Indo Mamman.
• Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, Abuja, Nigeria. gmustapha20@gmail.com.
• Bmc Infect Dis. 2020 Mar 6; 20 (1): 194.

BackgroundHepatitis B virus disease is a potentially life-threatening liver infection and a major global health problem. It causes chronic infection and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer. WHO estimated 257 million people are living with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and in 2015 alone HBV resulted in to 887,000 deaths globally. We determined the prevalence and associated factors of hepatitis B virus infection among Antenatal Care (ANC) attendees in Gamawa Local Government Area, Bauchi State.MethodsWe conducted a descriptive cross-sectional, health facility-based study between March and April 2018. We used systematic random sampling technique to recruit 210 pregnant women aged 15-49 years. With a structured questionnaire, we interviewed the respondents and collected blood sample to test for hepatitis B surface antigen. We calculated frequencies, means, proportions, and tested for associations using Epi Info 7.2 and Microsoft Excel.ResultsThe mean age of respondents was 24.5 ± 6.0 years; 112 (53%) of whom were younger than 25 years. All were married, 183 (87%) had no formal education and up to 190 (90%) were employed. Overall, 14 (6.7%) tested positive for HBsAg; women aged ≥35 years had the highest prevalence (10%). None with tertiary education tested positive and women married before 18 years had 13 (6.2%) prevalence.ConclusionsThe prevalence of HBsAg among pregnant women in Gamawa LGA was 6.7% which is quite lower than the national prevalence reported. We recommended improved surveillance of HBV infection and screening of women attending ANC.

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