Schistosomiasis and hepatitis B infection in pregnancy: implications for vaccination against hepatitis B

A study to investigate the prevalence of schistosomiasis and hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection, among pregnant women was carried out at Howard Hospital in Chiweshe District, Zimbabwe. Urine and stool specimens, for the determination of Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni respectively, were collected from 299 pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic. In addition, five ml of blood was collected from each of the women for the determination of hepatitis B serum markers, HBsAg and anti-HB antibodies. S. haematobium and S. mansoni infection prevalence was 50 pc among the pregnant women. About 13 pc of them had both infections. Frequency of stillbirth or infant mortality was 16 pc among expectant mothers who previously had schistosoma infection compared to 8 pc among those who had no history of schistosomal infection. Only 2 pc of the pregnant women tested positive for the two hepatitis B markers. However, further hepatitis B prevalence B studies still have to be carried out with a larger cohort of pregnant women in schistosomiasis endemic areas. At the same time the seroconversion rates of children born from mothers living in schistosomiasis endemic areas would need to be compared with those of non-endemic areas before any changes in the recommended vaccination schedule are made.