SEROPREVELANCE OF HEPATITIS B AND COINFECTION WITH HEPATITIS D IN PREGNANT FEMALES OF RURAL AREAS OF KARACHI

BACKGROUND: Viral hepatitis is a major global health concern affecting four hundred million people with chronic hepatitis B especially during the perinatal period and early childhood. 5% of them are superinfected with hepatitis D.HBV-HDV co-infection results in a higher risk of fulminant hepatitis. In Pakistan, the situation is worse than in the developed countries and there is paucity of available information. OBJECTIVES: The objective of our study is primarily to determine seroprevalence of hepatitis B and co-infection with hepatitis D in pregnant females of rural areas of Karachi. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out for one year from January 2021. 385 blood samples of pregnant females from rural areas were collected from various hospitals of Karachi. All tests were performed at Muhammadi Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre Karachi. Screening for hepatitis B was done by electrochemiilluminiscence immunoassay (ECLIA) on cobas e 411 analyzer. Amplification and reporting of HBV and HDV was done using Real time PCR (QIAGEN 3rd generation, HRM channel Germany). Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS version 25.0. RESULTS: Among 385 healthy pregnant females belonging to rural areas of Karachi the overall prevalence of HBV is 9.1% while HBV/HDV co-infection is found to be 1.3%. CONCLUSION: There is an increasing trend observed in the prevalence of HBV and HDV in the pregnant females of rural areas of Karachi as compared to previous statistics. HBV positive patients should be screened for HDV. Education of masses is required in order to create awareness in the general population. KEYWORDS: Hepatitis B, Hepatitis D, pregnant females, molecular characterization