Evaluate the viral hepatitis prevalence in Sierra Leone, avoid mother to child transmission of Hepatitis B by vaccination at birth and adjust the treatment of PLHIV infected by Hepatitis B
18 February 2016 | Informations
SIERRA LEONEOPERATIONAL RESEARCHFighting HEPATITISFighting HIV / AIDS
Today in Sierra Leone there is no systematic screening of HBV and HCV for pregnant women and People Living with HIV (PLHIV), and just few epidemiological data are available on this topic. Solthis conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, a study to estimate the prevalence rate among these targeted group.
The study, conducted in September 2015, allowed the screening of 200 pregnant women at “Princess Christian Maternity Hospital” and 300 adults living with HIV at “Connaught Hospital”. The hepatitis B prevalence is 9% for pregnant women and 8% for PLHIV. Hepatitis C prevalence is 0.5% for pregnant women and 0.3% for PLHIV.
Following the results of the tests, HIV treatment for PLHIV infected with hepatitis B has been adjusted to include a treatment with tenofovir which is efficient against both HIV and HBV viruses.
For pregnant women infected with hepatitis B screened by this study, a vaccination against hepatitis B has been proposed to their infants. This approach, in line with WHO recommendations, aims to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B and the development of chronic forms of hepatitis B which are a leading cause of morbidity (cirrhosis and liver cancer) among adults who have been infected at birth.
