SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION AS DETERMINANTS OF HIGH INCREASE OF HBV AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN LAGOS METROPOLITAN CITY
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SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION AS DETERMINANTS OF HIGH INCREASE OF HBV AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN LAGOS METROPOLITAN CITY
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
The term “viral hepatitis” refers to a group of diseases that are clinically identical but have different causes and epidemiologies. Hepatitis A (previously known as infectious hepatitis) and hepatitis B (formerly known as serum hepatitis) have been recognised as distinct organisms since the early 1940s, and can be identified using particular serologic tests.
Delta hepatitis is a hepatitis B virus-dependent illness. It can arise as a co-infection with acute HBV infection or as a super infection in an HBV carrier (Ascherio, 2001). Infection with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major public health issue in developing countries, including Nigeria.
According to the World Health Report 2000, HBV infection is projected to cause around 600 000 disability adjusted life years (DALY) and 31 000 deaths in South Nigeria per year.
About 4% of the population is projected to be HBV carriers, for a total pool of approximately 36 million carriers in Nigeria. According to reports, HBV causes 70% of chronic hepatitis and 80% of liver cirrhosis. About 80% of Nigerian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had hepatitis virus-related liver illness (Dhir, 1997).
HBV infection is most commonly acquired at a young age in underdeveloped nations, through vertical transfer from mother to child, perinatal transmission, and horizontal transmission from child to child. However, HBV can also be transmitted sexually, and sexual transmission, both heterosexual and gay, accounts for the vast majority of transmission in adulthood.
Numerous studies have found a significant incidence of HBV markers in persons engaging in risky sexual conduct, such as STD patients and commercial sex workers. In Nigeria, a high frequency of HBV infection has been found among people who engage in hazardous behaviours as well as HIV-positive people.
However, the majority of these findings relied only on the presence of the HBV surface antigen. Though spouses of HBV carriers have been demonstrated to be at a higher risk of contracting HBV, nothing is known about the degree of HBV transmission through sexual contact. Nigeria does not have data on the incidence of HBV infection in STD patients or the general population (Tandon, 1996).
Mast and Ward (2008) claim that both HBV and HIV can be transferred sexually. Dual HIV/HBV infection might result in HBV reactivation as well as increased HIV replication. Currently, STD control initiatives in Nigeria do not often include the provision of hepatitis B vaccine to STD patients.
As a result, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and incidence of hepatitis B infection, as well as the HBV risk factors among patients visiting three metropolitan STD clinics in Pune.
Hippocrates documented epidemic jaundice in the fifth century BCE. The earliest known instances of serum hepatitis, or hepatitis B, are likely to be those following the delivery of smallpox vaccine containing human lymph to shipyard workers in Germany in 1988. Serum hepatitis was frequently detected in the early and middle decades of the twentieth century after using infected needles and syringes.
In 1943, Beeson described jaundice in seven blood transfusion recipients, emphasising the significance of blood as a channel for viral transmission. The Australia antigen, later known as hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), was initially characterised in 1965, and the Dane particle (complete hepatitis B virion) was found in 1970.
Serologic indicators for HBV infection were identified, which helped to elucidate the disease’s natural history. HBsAg was eventually produced in large quantities and is presently used as an immunogen in extremely successful HBV vaccinations (Kane, 1993).
HBV is a tiny virus with a double shell that belongs to the Hepadnaviridae family. Hepadnaviridae also includes duck hepatitis virus, ground squirrel hepatitis virus, and woodchuck hepatitis virus.
The virus has a tiny, circular DNA genome that is partially double-stranded. HBV has a number of antigenic components, including the hepatitis B viral antigen (HBsAg), the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg), and the hepatitis B e antigen. Humans are the only known HBV hosts, though some nonhuman primates have been infected in laboratory settings.
HBV is relatively durable, and it has been demonstrated in some cases to remain infectious on environmental surfaces for more than 7 days at ambient temperature.
An estimated 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with HBV, and more than 350 million have chronic, life-long illnesses.
. It causes up to 80% of all hepatocellular carcinomas. The World Health Organisation projected that hepatitis B-associated acute and chronic liver disease killed over 600,000 people worldwide in 2002 (Lewis, Shinefield, and Woodruff, 2001).
Statement of the Problem
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious public health concern and one of the most common infectious illnesses in Africa. Chronic HBV infection rates vary greatly over the world.
Nigeria is classified as having intermediate endemicity in the World Health Organization’s African area. Hepatitis B seropositivity ranges from 2% to 7% in areas with intermediate endemicity.
Many people, particularly expectant mothers, become infected with the hepatitis B virus as a result of their unguided sexual behaviour and a lack of sufficient education, awareness programs, and information about the infection.
Pregnant women are the principal carriers of the HB virus to their unborn babies, as are health workers who are exposed after delivery. This study will look at sexual activity and education level as determinants of high hepatitis B virus incidence in pregnant women, with a focus on the impacts, causes, symptoms, prevention measures, and treatment.
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