Hepatitis B virus serosurvey and awareness of mother-to-child transmission among pregnant women in Shenyang, China

Abstract

Preventing hepatitis B virus (HBV) mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is the key to controlling the prevalence of chronic HBV infection. Adequate awareness of hepatitis B in hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) positive pregnant women may be helpful to reduce HBV MTCT.The aim of this study was to explore HBV seroprevalence among pregnant women and investigate the level of hepatitis B awareness among HBsAg positive pregnant women.HBV serum biomarkers were tested among pregnant women visiting Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University. HBsAg-positive pregnant women received a HBV DNA test and completed a questionnaire. The different HBV DNA loads were interpreted as follows: 20 to < 2 × 10 IU/mL was low viral load, 2 × 10 to < 2 × 10 IU/mL was intermediate viral load and ≥2 × 10 IU/mL was high viral load. The pregnant women with high viral load were treated with telbivudine (LdT). HBV DNA at different times was tested. The rate of HBV MTCT was confirmed at 28 weeks postpartum.HBsAg prevalence among pregnant women was 3.1% (441/14314). There was significant difference in comparing HBsAg prevalence in different age groups (χ = 13.86, P < .01). Among 441 HBsAg-positive pregnant women, 151 (34.2%) were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive and 112 (25.4%) had high viral load. After 4 weeks of treatment, the average HBV DNA load of 66 cases with high viral load was (5.0 ± 0.8) log10 IU/mL. The average HBV DNA load at 4 weeks postpartum rebounded to (7.9 ± 1.0) log10 IU/mL, which was not significantly different from that at baseline (t = 1.23, P = .22). At 28 weeks postpartum, the rate of HBV MTCT in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the observation group (0% vs 12.2%; P = .02). Only 23.4% of pregnant women knew their HBV status before gestation and 17.7% of pregnant women knew the HBV status before delivery. However, only 21.3% of pregnant women realized to need antiviral treatment to prevent MTCT.The pregnant women in Shenyang had a low HBsAg prevalence. Antiviral treatment for pregnant women with high viral load can effectively reduce the rate of HBV MTCT. HBV screening and education among HBsAg-positive pregnant women should be strengthened.

Hepatitis B and C viruses’ infection and associated factors among pregnant women in the Amhara region, Ethiopia: implications for prevention of vertical transmission.

“…However, our ndings are higher than those of studies done in the east Wolega zone 2.4%, Dawuro 3.5%, Addis Ababa 3%, Eritrea 3.2%, Germany 0.48%, Turkey 2.1%, and China 3.2% [28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. On the other hand, our ndings are lower than those studies done in Dire Dewa 8.4%, Mekele 8%, Hawasa 7.8%, Yirgalem 7.2%, Gambella 7.9%, Harar 6.9%, Tigray 5.5%, Gambia 9.2%, Tazania 8.03%, Cameroon 6.6%, and Ghana 12.9% [16,18,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”

Correlates of hepatitis B awareness and disease-specific knowledge among pregnant women in Northern and Central Uganda: a cross-sectional study

“…While this might be reflective of the younger generation access to information via technology in India, the observed lack of association in our population may be due to lower access to technology-transmitted knowledge than in India. Although about two thirds of the women knew about HBV prevention using a vaccine, a finding similar to that among Chinese pregnant women [34], a smaller proportion in this study was knowledgeable about mother to child HBV transmission and liver cancer as a possible consequence of chronic infection, compared to Chinese pregnant women. We also found a high proportion of women with inaccurate beliefs about HBV causation and transmission, compared to a Cameroonian study [28] in which prevalence of misconceptions was only 2.3%, but comparable to 66.5% of 504 pregnant women in a Ghanaian study [35].…”

Efficacy and safety of antiviral treatment on blocking the mother‐to‐child transmission of hepatitis B virus: A meta‐analysis

“…Of the 32 RCTs that enrolled 4189 pregnant women, 17 studies evaluated the effect of LAM, 15 studies evaluated LdT, 3 studies evaluated TDF, and 3 studies evaluated both LAM and LdT . Of the 27 non‐RCT studies enrolling 5039 pregnant women, 10 evaluated LAM, 18 evaluated LdT, 3 studies evaluated TDF, 2 evaluated both LAM and LdT, and another 2 studies evaluated both LAM and TDF . The characteristics of pregnant women and newborns in the 59 studies are summarized in Table .…”