FREQUENCY AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF HEPATITIS B AND HEPATITIS C VIRUS INFECTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN OF SOUTH PUNJAB.

Objective:- To see the frequency of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C virus infection and associated risk factors in pregnant women. Study design:- Cross-sectional study. Setting:- Outpatient departments of Gynaecology and obstetrics, Nishtar hospital Multan and Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) Bahawalpur. Patients and methods:- A total of 500 pregnant women attending outpatient departments of Gynaecology and Obstetrics were included in this study. Informed consent was taken. A specially designed proforma was filled in. HBsAg and Anti-HCV were tested by device method. Data were analyzed on SPSS-20. Results:- Out of 500 pregnant women 35(7.00%) were found to have Anti-HCV positive and 23(4.60%) were positive for HBsAg. Mean age of the study cases was 26.7± 4.8 years. Majority of the patients 263(52.60%) were from age group 26-35 years. In this study 138 (27.60%) of women were nulliparous and 282 (56.40%) were para 1-4 and Hepatitis B and C were common in this parity group. Only 80 (16.00%) women were para 5 or more. All Hepatitis B and C positive women were house-wives. Most of them were belonging to rural areas and with poor socio-economic status. Among 35 anti-HCV positive women, 20 (57.14%) had history of previous surgery while 13 (37.14%) had history of multiple injections, 5 (14.28%) received blood transfusion, 4 (11.42%) had ear/nose piercing while tattooing was seen in only 2 (5.71%). Among 23 HBsAg positive women, 10 (43.47%) had history of previous surgery. History of Multiple injections was present in 6 (26.08%) patients, 4 (17.39%) patients had history of blood transfusion, Tattooing, Ear/nose piercing, history of dental procedure, history of sharing needles was observed in 1 each. Conclusion:- HCV infection is more common than HBV infection in our study population. Previous History of surgery, multiple injection therapy and blood transfusion are major risk factors. Keywords:- Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Risk factors, Pregnancy