Prevalence of HBsAg in pregnant at the Mother-Child Hospital Center in Nouakchott, Mauritania

Abstract

Hepatitis B infection is a serious public health problem around the world and its prevalence varies widely from region to region. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of HBsAg in pregnant women in order to propose an infection control strategy in this case. Prospective, descriptive and mono-centric study concerned pregnant women at the Mother-Child Hospital between March-April 2021. Out of a total of 1051 pregnant women, 53 were carriers of HBsAg, ie a prevalence of 5%. The average age is 28.92 ± 7 years. Most of the pregnant women were from suburban areas and the majority from low socioeconomic backgrounds. All pregnant women were unaware of their hepatitis B serological status and none of them had been vaccinated against hepatitis B. Testing pregnant women for HBsAg is the mainstay of prevention against transmission of the hepatitis B virus