article · American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences
Syphilis and HIV remain considerable public health concerns in Ethiopia, frequently leading to adverse outcomes in pregnancy. A retrospective study carried out across public health institutions in Debre Berhan assessed the prevalence and risk factors associated with both infections among pregnant women receiving antenatal care. The findings showed an overall prevalence of 1.8 percent for syphilis and 7.2 percent for HIV, with the highest rates for both conditions recorded in 2015. Statistical analysis revealed that a previous history of sexually transmitted diseases and a history of stillbirth were significant risk factors for both syphilis and HIV infections. Additionally, having a male partner who tested positive for HIV substantially increased the likelihood of a woman testing positive. In response to these ongoing challenges, standard health education programmes on infection prevention for all pregnant attendees and expanded partner testing are advised.
Syphilis and HIV can pass from mother to child and cause severe pregnancy complications, including stillbirth. Identifying local infection rates and specific risk factors helps antenatal clinics understand which women are most vulnerable, enabling health providers to tailor educational outreach and promote partner testing to safeguard maternal and neonatal health.
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Syphilis is one of the sexually transmitted infections caused by bacteria known as <i>Treponema pallidum</i> and it is transmitted through sexual contact, via blood transfusion, or transplacentally from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Among STIs, syphilis and HIV are significant public health problems in Ethiopia and causes several adverse pregnancy outcomes. Thus this study aims to assess magnitude of both infections among pregnant women attending antenatal care. Facility based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Debre Berhan public health institutions and data was collected using pretested checklist. Finally data was entered to EPI Data3.02 and analyzed using SPSS version21. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant difference. Among the total participants, 179 (47%) were in the age group of 25-34 years, 220 (57%) were living in urban settings and majority 256 (67%) of the pregnant mothers were married. The overall prevalence of syphilis and HIV in pregnant mothers were 7 (1.8%) and 28 (7.2%) respectively. The highest number of syphilis and HIV prevalence were reported in 2015. Previous history of STD for syphilis (AOR 9.4; 95% CI 1.6-25) and HIV (AOR 8.2; 95% CI 2.2-31.8), previous history of still birth for syphilis (AOR 4.9; 95% CI 1.1-23.4) and HIV (AOR 5.6; 95% CI 1.8-17.1) and partner HIV test positive for HIV (AOR 11.9; 95%CI 1.18-20.6) are risk factor. The result shows syphilis and HIV infections were prevalent among pregnant women, indicating that they are still significant public health problems. Therefore, there should be health education for every pregnant woman regarding prevention of the two infection and partner testing is recommended.
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DOI: 10.11648/j.ajbls.20180603.14
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