Prevalence of HIV in a Cohort of Pregnant Women Attending a Tertiary Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

HIV/AIDS is one of the major barriers to community development. It is a global pandemic with high prevalence rates worldwide. This research was carried out to determine the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at the University College Hospital, Ibadan using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Gen Screen TM ULTRA HIV Ag-Ab Kit. HIV prevalence was found to be 26.4%. A total of 91 samples were tested, 24 (26.4%) were found to be positive and 67 (73.6%) negative. Women between the ages 25 – 31 had the highest prevalence rate of 16.5% while those between the ages of 39 – 45 years had the least prevalence rate of 1.1%. The results revealed a relatively high prevalence rate for HIV among pregnant women which suggests the need for active surveillance and implementation of preventive measures to avoid further spread of the virus. Pregnant women need to be continually tested for HIV and those infected monitored closely to prevent mother to child transmission.