Journal of Clinical Virology 51 (2011) 83–85 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Clinical Virology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcv Short communication Seroprevalence of HIV-1, HBV, HTLV-1 and Treponema pallidum among pregnant women in a rural hospital in Southern Ethiopia José M. Ramos a,b,∗ , Carlos Toro c , Francisco Reyes b , Aránzazu Amor c , Félix Gutiérrez a a Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital General Universitario de Elche, Alicante, Spain b Gambo General Rural Hospital, Shashamane, Ethiopia c Service of Microbiology, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain article info Article history: Received 13 October 2010 Received in revised form 31 December 2010 Accepted 17 January 2011 Keywords: HIV Hepatitis B virus HTLV Treponema pallidum Pregnant women abstract Background: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), hepatitis B virus (HBV), human T-cell lym- photropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and Treponema pallidum represent major public health problems in sub-Saharan countries. These infections can be transmitted from mother to children and may cause severe morbidities in their offspring. Ethiopia is among the countries where HIV-1, HBV and T. pallidum infections are highly prevalent. However, information on seroprevalence of these infections among ante- natal care attendees is very scarce and the majority of studies have been conducted in pregnant women from urban areas. Objectives: To determine the seroprevalence of HIV-1, HBV, HTLV-1 and T. pallidum infections among pregnant women in a rural hospital in Southern Ethiopia. Study design: A cross-sectional study was conducted among consecutive pregnant women attending a mother and child clinic in August 2008. Results: A total of 165 pregnant women were included. The seroprevalence of HIV-1 was 1.8% (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.6–5.2%), and for HBV (HBsAg seropositivity) was 6.1% (95% CI: 3.3–10.8%). Co-infection with HIV-1 and HBV was detected in one patient (prevalence: 0.6%; 95% CI: 0.1–3.4%). No cases of HTLV-1 infection and syphilis were found (95% CI: 0–2.3%). Conclusions: A far from negligible percentage of pregnant women from rural areas harbour HBV, and to a lesser extent, HIV-1 infections. Continuing efforts to strengthen the existing health education pro- gram and comprehensive screening for all pregnant women are necessary to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HBV and HIV-1. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Background Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), hepatitis B virus (HBV), human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and Treponema pallidum represent major public health problems throughout the world. These infections can be transmitted from mother to children and may cause severe morbidities in their offspring. Since the early 1990s, antenatal clinics have been the pri- mary data source from which estimates of the prevalence have been done to estimate the national rate of HIV-1 infection and tracking the epidemic in Ethiopia. These data have shown a different dis- tribution of HIV-1 infection between pregnant women from major urban areas in comparison to those from rural localizations (∼12% ∗ Corresponding author at: Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital General Universitario de Elche, Camí L’Almazara 11, Elche 03203, Alicante, Spain. Tel.: +34 966616754; fax: +34 966616756. E-mail address: jramosrincon@yahoo.es (J.M. Ramos). vs. ∼5%) and a decline in the HIV-1 seroprevalence in this popu- lation in the last decade. 1 In contrast, data about seroprevalence of other blood borne-virus infections among pregnant women are scarce in this country. Only one report has analyzed HBV infection in Ethiopia, observing that around 7% of pregnant women carry the surface HBV antigen (HBsAg). 2 There is no information about the rate of HTLV-1 infection in women attending antenatal clinics, despite this virus circulating in Ethiopia. 3 Finally, several studies have shown a marked decrease in the seroprevalence of T. pal- lidum among pregnant women within the last decade with a current rate around 2%. However, most of these studies were performed in women attending antenatal clinics from urban settings and data on T. pallidum seroprevalence in rural areas are very limited. 2,4,5 Screening of mother-to-child HIV-1, HBV, HTLV-1 and T. pal- lidum transmission infections are one of the main objectives to prevent their spread. However, efficient surveillance networks are often too costly and accessibility to diagnosis and treatment facil- ities in sub-Saharan African countries is very limited, notably for people residing in rural settings. To know their prevalence among 1386-6532/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2011.01.010