Maternal cbl status is an important determinant of infantile cbl status. Both maternal holoTC and tHcy may assist in predicting infantile cbl status. The finding of high prevalence of maternal and infantile cbl deficiency in this study points towards the need for effective strategies to prevent cbl deficiency in women prior to getting pregnant.

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Introduction: This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in children and females in the middle Black Sea Region of Turkey and to assess the impact of the universal infant hepatitis B vaccination program started in 1998. Methodology: The laboratory records of 12,057 patients who attended the Samsun Maternity and Children's Hospital between January 2007 and November 2009 were evaluated retrospectively. In this period, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs), was studied from serum samples using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method. Results: In the total population, HBsAg seropositivity was found to be 3.8% (456/12010); anti-HBs was 32.6% (3526/10800). HBsAg was 3.5%, in the 0-14 year age group, 8.2% in the 15-18 group, 3.3% in the 19-49 group, and 8.0% in the over 49 group. The seropositivity of HBsAg decreased by half in patients between zero and 14 years of age (4.2%) who were included in the universal vaccination program when compared with those in the 15-18 year group (8.2%) who were not included in the program. There was a significant difference in HBsAg seropositivity between boys (5.8%) and girls (3.9%) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the hepatitis B seroprevalence records of our region, HBsAg was 3.5% in the 0-14 year age group, 8.2% in the 15-18 year group. It may therefore be suggested that, since 1998, the vaccination program in our region has been successful.

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