Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Public Health Facilities in Babile District, Eastern Ethiopia

Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Public Health Facilities in Babile District, Eastern Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Public Health Facilities in Babile District, Eastern Ethiopia Melkamu Kefyalew, Bezatu mengistie, Tesfaye Gobana, Obsa Anbessa, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3957928/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background : Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the global health challenges that pose burden on the lives of millions. It is 50-100 more infectious than the HIV/ AIDS and it also called “a silent infection” because most people do not have any symptoms when they are infected first. The route of the transmission of the HBV is largely vary from region to regions in which vertical transmission is common in highly endemic areas like Asian- Pacific regions and African region. Horizontal transmission is common in low endemic areas like Europe and America. In spite of the importance of the epidemiological knowledge of the sero prevalence of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) among pregnant women to identify the associated risk factors and implement the appropriate intervention measures in Ethiopia is under studied particularly in the current study area. Objectives : To determine sero-prevalence of HBV infection and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Babile district health facilities, Oromia, Eastern Ethiopia from February 26, 2018 to March 20, 2018 Methods : Health facility based cross-sectional study was conducted among 293 pregnant women who were attending antenatal care clinic in Babile district. Data was collected by using pretested standard questionnaires adapt from the World Health Organization protocol for assessment of HBV antenatal care (ANC) patient. Blood samples were collected from each participants and serum specimens were tested for HBsAg using rapid diagnostic test kits and positive tests were confirmed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA). Descriptive statics was computed to describe the percentage, mean and standard deviations of the study variables. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictors of the independent variables. Independent variables with P-value ≤ 0.05 were declare statistical significant and adjusted odd ratio were used to report the effect size. Result : This study indicated that the overall sero-prevalence of HBV among pregnant mother in the current study area was 7.85% (95% CI, 5.0, 11.5). Higher prevalence (6.8%) was observed in the age group of < 30 years. After adjusting for all potential cofounder using multivariate analysis previous History of having blood transfusion (AOR 4.75, 95%CI 1.19, 18.92), having any surgical procedures (AOR 5.21, 95%CI (1.48, 18.35), having traditional cutting of tonsil/uvula and family history of hepatitis (AOR 5.82, 95%CI 1.63, 20.75) were become independent predictors of HBV infection. Conclusion : The prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women is high-intermediate endemic area according to the WHO classification criteria. This result implies that HBV infection is a serious public health problem in Babile district. Having history of Blood transfusion, any surgical procedure, family history of hepatitis and history of traditional cutting of tonsillectomy were independent factors significantly associated with HBV infection among the study participants. Hepatitis B virus pregnant women Babile Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 25 Oct, 2024 Reviews received at journal 06 Jun, 2024 Reviews received at journal 05 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 May, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 23 May, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 17 May, 2024 Editor invited by journal 22 Feb, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Feb, 2024 First submitted to journal 15 Feb, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3957928","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":274838112,"identity":"4204efdc-3780-4435-9621-00e36652f6ab","order_by":0,"name":"Melkamu Kefyalew","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"FHI at Dire Dawa Mayor Office","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Melkamu","middleName":"","lastName":"Kefyalew","suffix":""},{"id":274838113,"identity":"ef019bce-00bb-4fd9-a776-542a53623bf0","order_by":1,"name":"Bezatu mengistie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Haramaya 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at Public Health Facilities in Babile District, Eastern Ethiopia\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-pregnancy-and-childbirth","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"prch","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth](http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/prch/default.aspx","title":"BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Hepatitis B virus, pregnant women, Babile","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3957928/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3957928/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the global health challenges that pose burden on the lives of millions. It is 50-100 more infectious than the HIV/ AIDS and it also called “a silent infection” because most people do not have any symptoms when they are infected first. The route of the transmission of the HBV is largely vary from region to regions in which vertical transmission is common in highly endemic areas like Asian- Pacific regions and African region. Horizontal transmission is common in low endemic areas like Europe and America. In spite of the importance of the epidemiological knowledge of the sero prevalence of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) among pregnant women to identify the associated risk factors and implement the appropriate intervention measures in Ethiopia is under studied particularly in the current study area.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObjectives\u003c/strong\u003e: To determine sero-prevalence of HBV infection and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Babile district health facilities, Oromia, Eastern Ethiopia from February 26, 2018 to March 20, 2018\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e: Health facility based cross-sectional study was conducted among 293 pregnant women who were attending antenatal care clinic in Babile district. Data was collected by using pretested standard questionnaires adapt from the World Health Organization protocol for assessment of HBV antenatal care (ANC) patient. Blood samples were collected from each participants and serum specimens were tested for HBsAg using rapid diagnostic test kits and positive tests were confirmed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA). Descriptive statics was computed to describe the percentage, mean and standard deviations of the study variables. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictors of the independent variables. Independent variables with P-value ≤ 0.05 were declare statistical significant and adjusted odd ratio were used to report the effect size.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResult\u003c/strong\u003e: This study indicated that the overall sero-prevalence of HBV among pregnant mother in the current study area was 7.85% (95% CI, 5.0, 11.5). Higher prevalence (6.8%) was observed in the age group of \u0026lt; 30 years. After adjusting for all potential cofounder using multivariate analysis previous History of having blood transfusion (AOR 4.75, 95%CI 1.19, 18.92), having any surgical procedures (AOR 5.21, 95%CI (1.48, 18.35), having traditional cutting of tonsil/uvula and family history of hepatitis (AOR 5.82, 95%CI 1.63, 20.75) were become independent predictors of HBV infection.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c/strong\u003e: The prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women is high-intermediate endemic area according to the WHO classification criteria. This result implies that HBV infection is a serious public health problem in Babile district. Having history of Blood transfusion, any surgical procedure, family history of hepatitis and history of traditional cutting of tonsillectomy were independent factors significantly associated with HBV infection among the study participants.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Sero-prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Public Health Facilities in Babile District, Eastern Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-02-26 02:29:11","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3957928/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-10-25T07:27:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-06-06T10:25:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-06-05T08:58:36+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"258820577115563314939698718438806766124","date":"2024-06-05T08:50:39+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"275178389541006892760202941915872682191","date":"2024-06-04T07:30:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"235193066059947205902085596419748982648","date":"2024-05-23T13:24:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-05-23T07:07:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-05-17T08:43:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2024-02-22T20:07:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-02-22T20:06:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth","date":"2024-02-15T07:20:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-pregnancy-and-childbirth","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"prch","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth](http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/prch/default.aspx","title":"BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"dd4da312-0f0b-43ae-a768-fb52c9dc1400","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 26th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-03T15:59:26+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-3957928","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-025-08321-5","journal":{"identity":"bmc-pregnancy-and-childbirth","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth"},"publishedOn":"2025-10-28 15:56:51","publishedOnDateReadable":"October 28th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-02-26 02:29:11","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12884-025-08321-5","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-025-08321-5","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3957928","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3957928","identity":"rs-3957928","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}