ABSTRACT

The prevalence of hepatitis c virus among pregnant women attending Madonna Catholic Hospital, Umuahia. A total of 40 blood samples were collected from pregnant women who were admitted at the hospital with the aid of a trained medical personnel. The patient lives in different areas of Umuahia, Abia State. Approximately 2m1 of blood was collected from each individual in an ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid container. The age group included in this study was I I-50years. The samples were centrifuged at 2000 revolutions per minute (rpm) for 5 minutes in order to obtain a clear supernatant serum. The sera were then stored at 20°c prior to the serologic assay of HCV. All the samples were screened for HCV infection based on the immunochromatographic technique (ICT). Immunochromatographic technique (SD BiolineHCsAg) is a one-step assay designed for the qualitative determination of HCsAg in Human Serum or Plasma. The women who tested positive at the occurrence rate of 60% were observed between studied month (August to November, 2019) and a total number of 6 patients were HCV positive out of 40 blood samples collected. It was also observed, that the occurrence of HCV was higher in those within the age range of 41-50 years than those within the age range of 11-20, 21-30 and 31-40. The risk factors included; Age, past history of previous surgery, blood transfusion, husbands with HCV infection, working at Health Service Centers and in rural areas