This research work was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis B
virus infection in pregnant women in Kaduna, Kaduna state, Nigeria. The study
population was randomly drawn from women attending antenatal clinics in the three
general hospitals in Kaduna metropolis i.e. Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, Yusuf
Dantsoho Memorial Hospital and Gwamna Awan General Hospital. Blood specimen
and personal data were obtained from two hundred and seventy four pregnant women
attending the clinics. For this study, three Hepatitis B Virus infection serological
markers : anti-HBs, anti- HBc and HBeAg, were employed using ELISA. The three
assay kits used were AutoBio Anti-HBs Plus, AutoBio Anti-HBc Plus and AutoBio
HBeAg all manufactured by AutoBio Immundiagnostics U.S.A. From the study
population of 274 pregnant women screened for the HBV serological markers, 77
(28.1%) were seropositive for anti-HBs, and 57(20.8%) and 6(2.2%) were seropositive
for anti-HBc and HBeAg respectively. There was no statistical association between
the presence of the hepatitis B virus infection markers and marital status, educational
status, age and number of sexual partners. The seroprevalence rate for the HBV
infection markers increased with increase in educational status, the tertiary group did
not follow this trend. The distribution across age revealed that the frequency of the
anti-HBs infection markers was highest (35.3%) in the 20-24 years age group, and for
anti-HBc the peak was recorded in the 15-19 years age group, this is likely due to the
sexual activity of this age range. Married women accounted for all the 6 (2.4%) that
were seropositive to HBeAg. This survey confirms the presence of hepatitis B virus
infection markers in Kaduna and also illustrates the percentage that lacks the
serological markers which makes them susceptible to HBV infection. This study
provided a baseline for further research on the transmission, surveillance and
intervention strategies of HBV in Kaduna and Nigeria as a whole. Vaccination of all
children against hepatitis B virus irrespective of the serological status of their mothers
and routine screening of pregnant women for these HBV serological markers are
recommended.