TITLE:
Prevalence and Factors Associated with Viral Hepatitis B and C at the Ebolowa Regional Hospital Center
AUTHORS:
Messakop Moayeth Yannick, Lendem Isabelle, Bisay Souhe Ulrich, Atangana Ekobo Huguette, Mboua Ndenga Veronique, Bilo’o Leslie, Makemgue Louise Stephanie, Ndoumba Annick, Elah Clovis, Aboui Flaure, Ntone Samuel Vianey, Bengono Rody, Foumane Pascal, Ekono Guy Michel
KEYWORDS:
Prevalence, Associated Factors, Hepatitis B, Pregnant Women, Ebolowa
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.15 No.12,
December
31,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Viral hepatitis B is a major problem during pregnancy because of its impact on maternal and foetal well-being. Our aim was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with viral hepatitis B during pregnancy at the Ebolowa regional hospital center (ERHC). Methodology: We conducted a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study from June 2023 to June 2025, including all pregnant women seen at the Ebolowa regional hospital center during the study period who had undergone a rapid screening test for hepatitis B and C, confirmed by an ELISA test if positive. Sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic data were collected and analysed using SPSS version 28.0 software, with a confidence interval of 95% and a significance threshold set at p Results: During the study period, 480 pregnant women were included. Of these, 38 women tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), for a prevalence of 7.9%, and 3 for Hepatitis C antibody (HCV-Ab), for a prevalence of 0.6%. The mean age of these hepatitis B virus-positive patients was 27.9 ± 4.7 years (range: 18 to 43 years). The highest prevalence of hepatitis B was in the 21-30 age group (59%), among housewives (62%), single women (60%) and multiparous women (54.5%). Family history of hepatitis B virus (OR = 2.1; CI [1.22 - 5.51], p = 0.001), single marital status (OR = 3.79; CI [2.63 - 7.52], p = 0.032) and age (21 - 30 years) (OR = 6.01; CI [2.40 - 20.21], p = 0.005) were the factors independently associated with viral hepatitis B. Conclusion: Viral hepatitis B remains a health problem among pregnant women treated at the ERHC, and several risk factors were identified, in line with the literature.