Skip to main content

Hepatitis B Core IgM Detection in Neonates Born to HBsAg and HBeAg Positive Mothers in Maiduguri, Nigeria | Chapter 08 | Emerging Research in Medical Sciences Vol. 2

Hepatitis B virus is a serious global public health problem and is endemic in Africa, including Nigeria. Infection of pregnant women during the second and third trimester poses a threat of 10 and 90% respectively for vertical transmission. A total of ninety two blood samples from consenting pregnant women were screened for HBsAg and HBeAg using ELISA kit (Cortez Diagnostic Inc, USA). Cord blood samples collected from five neonates of women positive for HBsAg and HBeAg were screened for HBcIgM using the same test kit. Questionnaire was used to collect data on demography, history of blood transfusion and presence of tribal mark from the pregnant women. Overall prevalences of 8.7% (8/92) and 5.4% (5/92) for HBsAg and HBeAg seromarkers, respectively were obtained. Mean age of the pregnant women was 25.75 with 27.2% within 20–24 years and 28.3% within 25–29 years, however this distribution was not statistically significant (p= 0.6840). Fifty percent (50%) of HBsAg positive women were within the age group of 25–29 years while 80% of HBeAg positive women were within the age group of 20 - 24 years. Blood transfusion (p= 0.002791) and tribal mark (p=0.00265) were found to be associated with acquisition of the virus. Eighty percent (80%: 4/5) of the neonates screened from HBsAg and HBeAg positive women were reactive for HBcIgM. The prevalence of surface antigen in this study suggests the endemicity of hepatitis B virus in the study area while the presence of both surface and envelope antigens in pregnant women portend infectivity. These results suggest the utmost need for establishment of a sustainable intervention measure that would protect not only pregnant women but women of childbearing age in order to mitigate spread of the virus. Screening for other hepatitis B virus seromarkers besides HBsAg before blood transfusion is also advocated.

Author(s) Details

S. O. Oyinloye
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

M. Yusuf
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

E. S. Yedak
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

J. Oyebanji
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Greening Regional Airports: A Vision for Carbon Neutral Infrastructure | Chapter 12 | Contemporary Perspective on Science, Technology and Research Vol. 3

 This study provides an overview of the energy demand of a regional airport, divided into individual time horizons. The electrification of aircraft systems raises the question of whether airports will be among the largest electricity consumers in our infrastructure in the future. Sustainability and especially emission reductions are significant challenges for airports that are currently being addressed. The Clean Sky 2 project GENESIS addresses the environmental sustainability of hybrid-electric 50-passenger aircraft systems in a life cycle perspective to support the development of a technology roadmap for the transition to sustainable and competitive electric aircraft systems. This article originates from the GENESIS research and describes various options for ground power supply at a regional airport. Potential solutions for airport infrastructure with a short (2030), medium (2040), and long (2050) time horizon are proposed. In addition to the environmental and conservation benefi...

Risk Factors for Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders. A Review of the Literature | Chapter 8 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 4

  Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the risk factors for the development of postpartum psychiatric disorders through international literature. Materials and Methods: Throughout many articles in PubMed, Google scholar and PsycInfo, a great amount of recent data was gathered to identify the disorders that are most common as well as their risk factors. Results: After childbirth, most commonly women experience postpartum depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and postpartum psychosis. All the disorders have many similar risk-factors with the main one being preexisting psychiatric disorder and many similar symptoms too. Conclusions: Women after childbirth are at risk of experience many psychiatric disorders, such as postpartum distress, postpartum post traumatic stress disorder and even more rarely postpartum psychosis. It is important to provide comprehensive support to ensure the well-being of both the mother and the infant and this will b...

Alkali Element Modification of Glucose Molecules as a Method to Dissolve Cancer Cells | Chapter 12 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 4

  The present study highlights about alkali element modification of glucose molecules as a method to dissolve cancer cells. The central regulation of the mechanisms governing cell proliferation has little effect on cancer cells. Cancer cells are entirely independent of the central command and divide and proliferate on their own, making it challenging to activate their response mechanism. Precisely, this is the reason why they are at risk to the health of humans and/or any biological entities. Instead of trying to reconnect the central command of the growth control mechanism to cancer cells that are already out of the range, we present a method of using the cancer cell’s own irresponsive and uncontrolled growth mechanism to their disadvantage and destroy the cancer cells. We found that this is achievable in an atomic/molecular level study of the glucose molecule, which is the primary food source used for growth and energy generation by all cells in the body, including the cancer cel...