Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Screening Among Pregnant Women and Care of Infants of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen-Positive Mothers - Guam, 2014

MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Winston E AbaraMary Kamb

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic among adults in the U.S. territory of Guam (1,2). Perinatal HBV transmission, which occurs at birth from an infected mother to her newborn infant, is a major mode of HBV transmission and maintains HBV endemicity (3). Approximately 90% of HBV-infected infants will develop chronic HBV infection, and approximately 25% of those will die prematurely from liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma (4,5). Since 1988, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended that all pregnant women be screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), an indicator of HBV infection, and that infants of women who screen positive (HBsAg-positive women) receive postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) (hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobulin [HBIG]). When received within 12 hours of birth, PEP is 85%-95% effective in preventing perinatal HBV transmission (5,6). Hepatitis B vaccine provides long-term active immunity to HBV infection and HBIG provides short-term passive immunity to HBV infection until the infant responds to the vaccine (5). Hepatitis B vaccine was introduced into the routine universal infant vaccination schedule in Guam in 1988 (1).

References

Jun 10, 1988·MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report·UNKNOWN Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Aug 23, 1993·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·W J EdmundsH C Whittle
Mar 28, 2012·Pediatrics·Emily A SmithTrudy V Murphy
Jun 28, 2013·Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention : APJCP·R L HaddockR Bordallo
Oct 16, 2016·Clinics in Liver Disease·Noele P NelsonBrian J McMahon

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