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Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody among apparently healthy pregnant women in Nigeria
Author(s) -
Nnatu S.N.,
Anyiwo C.E.,
Obi C.L.,
Karpas A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/0020-7292(93)90367-6
Subject(s) - medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , pregnancy , obstetrics , prospective cohort study , transmission (telecommunications) , hiv screening , pediatrics , immunology , genetics , syphilis , men who have sex with men , electrical engineering , biology , engineering
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in pregnancy in our community. METHOD: A prospective study on 250 pregnant women currently attending the antenatal clinic at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital was carried out in 1991. RESULT: Results obtained showed that of the 250 pregnant women screened only two (0.8%) were seropositive for HIV. This indicates the risk of vertical or materno‐fetal HIV transmission in our community and underscores the need for urgency for prospective monitoring of infants born to HIV sero‐positive women. CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence rate of HIV seropositivity amongst the otherwise healthy Nigerian pregnant women is only 0.8%, we advocate universal screening of HIV during pregnancy.