Aisha Mehnaz, Haleema Hashmi, Shershah Syed, Kulsoom.
Hepatitis B markers in mothers and its transmission in newborn.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;12(4):240-2.

Objective: To assess the frequency of hepatitis B markers in pregnant females and estimate rate and potential risk factors for transmission to newborn. Place: Departments of Paediatrics and Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Dow Medical College and Civil Hospital, and Sobraj Maternity Home, Karachi. Subjects and Methods: Two hundred and forty-five pregnant females admitted at term between September 1999 to April 1993 were screened for HbsAg and HbeAg using a rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT), on whole blood. Venous blood samples were collected simultaneously from all these patients and every fifth specimen was analysed by ELISA method. Babies of mother with Hbs or HbeAntigenemia were also tested at birth for both the antigens. The risk factors studied included maternal age, parity, history of previous abortion, transfusion, operation, drug addiction and liver diseases in the family. Results: Eight out of 245 mothers tested (3.26%) were positive for HBsAg and one out of eight mothers (12.5%) positive for HbsAg and HbeAg by ICT method. Results of 52 samples re-tested by ELISA were comparable with ICT All babies born to mothers with HBV infection were negative for these markers. Increasing maternal age, number of pregnancies, repeated injections and addiction emerged as significant risk factors. Conclusion: Vertical transmission in the early perinatal period is either minimum suggesting horizontal transmission in majority of children infected through mother or delayed sero-conversion in babies infected through perinatal route. This requires a prospective longitudinal study to measure the outcome.

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