Seroprevalence of HIV Infection among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in General Hospital Kumo

Abstract

Seroprevalence of HIV among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Kumo General Hospital was studied in 350 sera. The sera were obtained from women of different age group, occupation, social background including tradition (by tradition we mean people's ways of life common in that locality). Screening was carried out using Abbot determine test strips and Gene 11 HIV 1 and 2. The Bio-data information of the women was gathered through questionnaire administration. Out of the 350 sera collected, 12(3.4%) were reactive for HIV. There was high prevalence among age group 21-30 (2.1%) followed by age group 11-20 (0.9%). High prevalence was also observed among the unemployed pregnant women (2.1%). Women who had no risk factor were also noted to have had high prevalence (1.7%); Spouses of seropositive pregnant women and those with no risk factor had 42% and (33%) prevalence respectively.

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Citation: Ajobiewe JO et al. Seroprevalence of HIV Infection among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in
General Hospital Kumo, Gombe State Nigeria. Sch J App Med Sci, 2021 Nov 9(11): 1736-1739.
1736
Scholars Journal of Applied Medical Sciences
Abbreviated Key Title: Sch J App Med Sci
ISSN 2347-954X (Print) | ISSN 2320-6691 (Online)
Journal homepage: https://saspublishers.com
Seroprevalence of HIV Infection among Pregnant Women Attending
Antenatal Clinic in General Hospital Kumo, Gombe State Nigeria
Ajobiewe JO1*, Ajobiewe HF2, Alexander P2, Oguji C3, Yashim NA1, Sidi II1, Olabode AO4, Maikudi IH4, Chukwuedo
AA4
1National Hospital Abuja, Plot 132 Garki Central District, Nigeria
2Department of Biological Sciences, Bingham University Kodape Km 5 Nasarawa State of Nigeria
3University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada, FCT, Nigeria
4Department of Virology, Federal College of Veterinary and Medical Laboratory Technology, Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria
DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2021.v09i11.017 | Received: 28.07.2021 | Accepted: 01.09.2021 | Published: 24.11.2021
*Corresponding author: Ajobiewe JO
Abstract
Original Research Article
Seroprevalence of HIV among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Kumo General Hospital was studied in
350 sera. The sera were obtained from women of different age group, occupation, social background including
tradition (by tradition we mean people’s ways of life common in that locality). Screening was carried out using Abbot
determine test strips and Gene 11 HIV 1 and 2. The Bio-data information of the women was gathered through
questionnaire administration. Out of the 350 sera collected, 12(3.4%) were reactive for HIV. There was high
prevalence among age group 21-30 (2.1%) followed by age group 11-20 (0.9%). High prevalence was also observed
among the unemployed pregnant women (2.1%). Women who had no risk factor were also noted to have had high
prevalence (1.7%); Spouses of seropositive pregnant women and those with no risk factor had 42% and (33%)
prevalence respectively.
Keywords: Prevalence, Women, HIV, Pregnancy.
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original
author and source are credited.
INTRODUCTION
Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) is one
of the most dreaded viruses that attracts global
attention. It is the etiologic agent of Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS Related
Syndrome or Complexes (ARC) [1]. The virus was
recognized and documented in the USA in Sanfrancisco
in 1981 [1]. HIV was diagnosed in Africa (Kenya) first
in the year 1984 and in Nigeria the year 1986 from a
sexually active thirteen year old girl [2]. HIV infection
among pregnant women has been identified as a major
cause of Paediatric HIV/AID which leads to death that
has now become a global concern [3]. Infection with
HIV is now pandemic with over 39.5 million people
currently infected world-wide of which over 2.2 million
are below the age of 15 years [4].
The study was therefore designed to determine
the prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant
women attending antenatal clinics in Kumo, Gombe
State.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Sample collection and processing: Five
milliliters of blood was collected from each subject
allowed to clot and the serum was separated by
centrifugation for 5 minutes at 2500rpm. A total of 350
sera were obtained, they were heat inactivated at 56OC
for 30minutes and stored at -200C, ready for laboratory
assay. Their bio data was collected with a well-
structured questionnaire after ethical and consent
approval.
Laboratory Sample Test: The sera were
screened using Gene II HIV-I and HIV-2. It is a rapid
enzyme immunoassay for qualitative detection of
antibodies to human immune deficiency virus types 1
and 2 in human serum or plasma. The sample were
further screened with the Abbott determine test strip.
The Gene II HIV-1 and HIV-2 has presented 100%
sensitivity on true HIV positive and seroconversion
panel with specificity of 99.8% [5]. All test procedures
and interpretations of results were carried out according
to the manufactures instructions and specifications.
Virology

Ajobiewe JO et al; Sch J App Med Sci, Nov, 2021; 9(11): 1736-1739
© 2021 Scholars Journal of Applied Medical Sciences | Published by SAS Publishers, India
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RESULTS
All sera samples were reactive to only HIV-1.
This implies that HIV-1 type virus was responsible for
their HIV infection. Table 1 shows the overall
distribution of HIV among the pregnant women
screened. Out of the 350 samples, 12(3.43%) were
reactive to HIV while 338 (96.57%) were non-reactive.
Table 2 presents the age distribution of HIV
among the women. Age group 21-30 years had the
highest reactive number (2.0%) followed by ages 11-20
with 0.86% while the age group 31-40 had the least
with 0.57%. There was no reaction in age group 41-50
years.
Table-1: Overall Distribution of HIV among the subjects
Table-2: Age Distribution of HIV among the pregnant women
Table 3 shows the educational status of the
pregnant women. The highest reactivity came from
women with primary education with 6(1.71%). The
secondary, tertiary and informal education had equal
reactivity of 2(0.57%). Most of the women (186) had no
formal education. The occupational distribution of HIV
among the pregnant women screened is presented on
Table 4. The unemployed had the highest reactivity
with 7(2.1%) followed by the self-employed (5(1.43%)
while the civil servant, mechanical staff and
military/paramilitary had no reactivity (0.00%) (Table
4).
Table-3: HIV distribution among the women based on their Educational Status.

Ajobiewe JO et al; Sch J App Med Sci, Nov, 2021; 9(11): 1736-1739
© 2021 Scholars Journal of Applied Medical Sciences | Published by SAS Publishers, India
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Table-4: Occupational distribution of HIV among the pregnant women
Table 5 presents the distribution of HIV
infections. Based on the risk factors among the women.
The no risk factor group (186) had the highest reactivity
with 6(1.71%) followed by the multiple sex with
5(1.43%) while the blood transfused women had the
least with 1(0.29%).
Table-5: HIV distribution among the women based on risk factors.
DISCUSSION
Previous studies conducted on HIV have shown
that the disease is now endemic in the country. From
the first single case diagnosed in 1986 in the country,
the disease has assumed an epidemic status [6 7]. This
study showed the presence of HIV infections among
pregnant women in Gombe State. The 3.4s% prevalence
rate obtained in this study although seems to be low is
of great medical significance since the disease is a
dreaded one. The 3.43% prevalence is in line with the
report of [8] who got 3.5% prevalence among pregnant
women in Sokoto.
The case of HIV infection in pregnant women
is a potential case in offspring and children as 20% of
infants born to HIV positive parents are HIV positive
[9]. Since most of the women have no formal education,
their infections may be due to lack of sufficient
knowledge of the disease or lack of good medical
facilities to control the transmission and spread. The
age distribution showed that ages 21-30 years had the
highest prevalence (2.0%). This figure is in line with
the report of 10 who reported same figure in Abuja. The
infections of this age group may be attributed to active
involvement in social life styles, some of which
involves having unprotected sex and prostitution early
in life (Table 2).
The prevalence among the primary educated women
may be attributed to the danger of low level of
education in the society and also the high prevalence
among the unemployed may influence them to have
premarital sex or prostitution in order to survive. In
conclusion, this study has revealed the presence and
continuous spread of HIV among pregnant women
which may result to Paediatric and infant HIV and
AIDS. To prevent further transmission and spread, it is
strongly recommended that all medical centers and
Hospitals should be properly equipped with more
sensitive modern equipment and diagnostic techniques.
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