{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T17:18:45Z","timestamp":1787678325314,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["public health action"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>BACKGROUND<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Sierra Leone faces high rates of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, syphilis, and presumed hepatitis B (HepB). Since 2014, integrated testing and treatment within antenatal care (ANC) have aimed to prevent this transmission, yet no comprehensive study on these infections among pregnant women exists.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>OBJECTIVES<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Assess screening coverage and test positivity for these infections in 21 health facilities in 4 districts, each representing Sierra Leone\u2019s four regions, to ensure national representation of triple elimination testing: Primary (12), Secondary (5), and Tertiary (4).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>METHOD<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional analysis of secondary data from health-facility registers in Western Area Urban, Bombali, Bo, and Kenema districts, between November 2024 and October 2025, summarised as frequencies and proportions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>RESULTS<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among 10,003 women attending their first ANC visit, screening coverage was 99.6% for HIV, 99.6% for syphilis, 92.9% for HepB, and 92.4% for all three infections. Test positivity was 4.9% for HIV, 1.3% for syphilis, and 4.0% for HepB.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>CONCLUSION<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Triple-disease testing at ANC facilities in Sierra Leone is feasible and can achieve high coverage. The test-positivity rate for HepB suggests a considerable burden of maternal infection and ongoing MTCT. Still, there are currently no interventions to address this gap. Testing should be scaled-up urgently and followed by a programme for maternal treatment, safe delivery, and immunisation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.5588\/pha.25.0051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T16:20:45Z","timestamp":1787674845000},"page":"135-140","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["High screening coverage and positivity rates of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B among pregnant women accessing antenatal care in Sierra Leone"],"prefix":"10.5588","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"M.A.","family":"Sesay","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"B.D.","family":"Fofanah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"D.","family":"Nair","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"A.","family":"Ramsay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"N.","family":"Sesay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.S.","family":"Kapuwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"I.F.","family":"Kamara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Sillah-Kanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"I.S.","family":"Turay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Mustapha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"A.M.","family":"Falama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"W.K.","family":"Lahai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"F.","family":"Kanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J.A.","family":"Koroma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"G.N.","family":"Kamara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"F.","family":"Thomas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Batcho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Lakoh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"3554","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]]},"reference":[{"issue":"8","key":"2026082509204286000_16.3.135.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1000","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cmi.2023.03.002","article-title":"Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C virus infections in pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"29","author":"Wu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Clin Microbiol Infect"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026082509204286000_16.3.135.2","first-page":"4359401","article-title":"Hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis seroprevalence in pregnant women and blood donors in Cameroon","volume":"2016","author":"Dionne-Odom","year":"2016","journal-title":"Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol"},{"key":"2026082509204286000_16.3.135.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2471\/BLT.20.272559"},{"key":"2026082509204286000_16.3.135.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jiph.2018.10.008"},{"key":"2026082509204286000_16.3.135.5","unstructured":"World Health Organization . 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