Sero-Prevalence of Malaria, Hepatitis B and Syphilis Among Pregnant Women

Abstract

Malaria, syphilis and Hepatitis B during pregnancy are detrimental to the life of the pregnant women and the foetus. In this study, we documented the prevalence of the three diseases among pregnant women attending selected Comprehensive Health Care centers in Osogbo, Nigeria using serological kits of the 200 participants who consented to participate in the study, 26 (13%) were positive for malaria while 6 (3%) were positive for Hepatitis B. The co-infection of malaria and Hepatitis B was found only in two participants (1%) while none of the participants was positive for syphilis. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of malaria and Hepatitis B in relation to age (p>0.05). All the participants had good knowledge that mosquitoes transmit malaria but only 29 (14.5%) claimed to be sleeping under insecticide treated bed-net, About 169 (84.5%) relied solely on insecticide spray of the room and 2 (1%) did not practice any mosquito control measures. The results suggest the low prevalence of malaria, Hepatitis B and syphilis at the study area. However, early surveillance and adequate public health education will be immeasurable in safe-guiding the pregnant women from the detrimental effects of these infections.