Public Health Research 2015, 5(2): 58-65 DOI: 10.5923/j.phr.20150502.03 Prevalence of HIV among Pregnant Women in Rumubiakani, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Okerentugba PO, Uchendu SC, Okonko IO * Medical Microbiology Unit, Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Abstract This study is aimed at determining the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women in Rumubiakani, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The purpose of the study was explained to the pregnant women attending Antenatal clinic (ANC) in Obio Cottage Hospital, Rumubiakani. Those who consented to the study were given questionnaire. Blood samples were also collected from 200 pregnant women and screened for antibodies to HIV using Determine HIV-1/2 and Stat Pak HIV-1/2 rapid strips. The overall prevalence of HIV was found to be 3.0% (n=6). Of which 4(66.7%) were due to infection by HIV -1 while 2(33.3%) were due to infection by HIV-2. Higher prevalence of 8.3% was found among age-groups 20-29 years compared to 1.3% recorded among > 30 years. Participant who had never had any form of formal education had the highest prevalence of HIV [3(4.0%)] while those who had only primary level of education had zero prevalence [0(0.0%)]. Those who attested to having gone through secondary and tertiary levels of education had 1(2.5%) and 2(3.3%) prevalence respectively. Higher prevalence was found among adults 3(4.0%), illiterates 3(4.0%), traders 3(15.0%), singles 4(3.3%) and free thinkers 3(10.7%). HIV seropositivity significantly associated with behavioral variables such as had sex for commercial purpose before (8.3%), no HIV screening (7.1%), no awareness of non-sexual route of HIV transmission (4.7%), no condom use (4.2%) and no awareness of management of HIV symptoms (4.2%). Also 200(100.0%) of the participants acknowledged being aware of the existence of HIV. All (100.0%) agreed that to have sex with an infected partner could transmit the virus. However, 58.0% acknowledged being tested for HIV before. Sixty-eight percent (68.0%) of the participants were aware of other routes of transmission of the virus aside sex; they admitted sharing sharp unsterilized objects such as razor blades could be a risk factor. Forty percent (40.0%) of participants admitted they knew how to manage symptoms of the infection and 32.0% were aware of HIV window period. This study has further confirmed the presence of HIV among pregnant women in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Keywords HIV, Antibodies, HIV/AIDS awareness, Pregnant women 1. Introduction As HIV/AIDS is a major public health problem in Nigeria, the pandemic is dominated by HIV-1, which was discovered in 1983 [1]. In 1987, HIV-2 was discovered which is very common in West Africa and has not shown any significant spread from there [1]. Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with a population of over 150 million and HIV prevalence of 4.6% in 2008 [2-3]. It is estimated that 2.95 million individuals live with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria [4] and integrated control efforts are immeasurably needed [3, 5-6]. A more serious challenge today, is the growing infection rates among the adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa [7]. There is great concern about the spread of HIV epidemic in or within the adolescent population [8-9]. According to Unuigbe et al. [10], Fawole et al. [11], Musa et al. [12] and * Corresponding author: mac2finney@yahoo.com (Okonko IO) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/phr Copyright © 2015 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved Srivastava and Srivastava [13], most youths become sexually active before marriage, many while still in their teens had begun sexual activity. HIV in pregnant women is an important public health concern. Antenatal screening for HIV should routinely be offered to all pregnant women, as early diagnosis and management is important both to prevent transmission to the child and the mother’s health. Thus, this study aimed at determining the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women in Obio Cottage Hospital, Rumubiakani, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. 2. Methods Study Area This study was conducted at the Obio Cottage Hospital, Rumuobiakani, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional, consecutive health-facility-based study. In order to obtain a study sample representative of Rumuobiakani area of the state, pregnant women attending