Prevalence, risk factors and virological profile of chronic hepatitis b virus infection in pregnant women in India.

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J Med Virol. 2011 Jun;83(6):962-7. doi: 10.1002/jmv.22017.

Prevalence, risk factors and virological profile of chronic hepatitis b virus

infection in pregnant women in India.

Pande C, Sarin SK, Patra S, Bhutia K, Mishra SK, Pahuja S, Jain M, Srivastava S,

Dar SB, Trivedi SS, Mukhopadhyay CK, Kumar A.

Source

Department of Gastroenterology, GB Pant Hospital, New Delhi, India; Special

Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Abstract

A large program was conducted by the Government of India to study the prevalence

and profile of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and its risk factors in

pregnant women attending a tertiary care hospital in India. From September 2004

to December 2008 consecutive pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic were

screened and those found positive for HBsAg were enrolled. Healthy non-pregnant

women of child-bearing age, who presented for blood donation during the same

period, served as controls. Women with symptoms of liver disease or those aware

of their HBsAg status were excluded. Of the 20,104 pregnant women screened, 224

(1.1%) and of the 658 controls, 8 (1.2%) were HBsAg positive (P = ns).

Previous blood transfusions and surgery were significant risk factors for

infection with HBV. Of the women who were HBsAg positive, the ALT levels were

normal in 54% of the women and HBV DNA levels were above 2,000 IU/ml in 71% of

women. The median HBV DNA levels were higher in women who were HBeAg positive

compared to the HBeAg negative group. The most common HBV genotype was D (84%)

followed by A + D and A (8% each). In conclusion, the prevalence of HBsAg

positivity among asymptomatic pregnant women in North India is 1.1% with 71%

having high HBV DNA levels. These women may have a high risk of transmitting

infection to their newborns.

J. Med. Virol. 83:962-967, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 21503907 [PubMed - in process]