Seroprevalence of Zika Virus IgM Antibodies in Pregnant Woman in Nigeria

Backgrounds: In developing countries like Nigeria, screening of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnant women remains limited due to a lack of diagnostic facilities and non-specific symptoms, leading to potential misdiagnosis of the disease as other febrile illnesses such as malaria or typhoid. Materials & Methods: To address this issue, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anti-ZIKV IgM antibodies in pregnant women using enzyme-linked immunoassay. Additionally, the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay targeted a specific region of the membrane protein (prM) gene to detect Zika virus presence in the collected serum samples. For a period of four months from December 2021 to March 2022, a total of 360 serum samples were collected from pregnant women attending antenatal care units in two tertiary hospitals located in different regions of Nigeria. Findings: The results of this study revealed a prevalence of 17.2% (62 samples) for anti-ZIKV IgM antibodies among pregnant women. Further analysis using the RT-qPCR method detected Zika virus (prM gene) in 1.9% (7/62) of the serum samples. In addition to these virological results, the statistical analysis of sociodemographic data, clinical characteristics, and risk factors for ZIKV infection demonstrated a significant correlation between seropositivity and various factors including ethnicity, residence, occupation, and history of arboviral diseases (p< .005). Conclusion: Given the potential consequences of ZIKV infection in pregnant women, early diagnosis and intervention could improve maternal outcomes and prevent fetal abnormalities.

Seroprevalence of Zika Virus IgM Antibodies in Pregnant Woman in Nigeria Keywords:

ZIKV , IgM , Pregnancy , Arboviruses