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Prevention and control of perinatal hepatitis B virus transmission in ...

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pregnancy or early post partum; <strong>in</strong> 4 out <strong>of</strong> 16 HBeAg negative mothers by > 1 log dur<strong>in</strong>gpregnancy. Post partum ALT <strong>in</strong>creased <strong>in</strong> both HBeAg-positive <strong>and</strong> negative women. HBV DNAwas 10 9.4 -10 10.4 copies/ml <strong>in</strong> 3 HBeAg-positive mothers whose babies were, as compared to < 100-10 10.4 copies/ml <strong>in</strong> 18 whose babies were not, vertically <strong>in</strong>fected. Although the majority <strong>of</strong>HBeAg-negative women had low <strong>and</strong> relatively stable HBV DNA dur<strong>in</strong>g pregnancy, viremia wasalso relatively high <strong>in</strong> some HBeAg-negative mothers, <strong>and</strong> both viremia <strong>and</strong> ALT <strong>in</strong>creasedsignificantly late <strong>in</strong> pregnancy or shortly after delivery. Vertical <strong>transmission</strong> was only seen <strong>in</strong>HBeAg-positive mothers with very high levels <strong>of</strong> viremia. The value <strong>of</strong> measur<strong>in</strong>g HBV DNA <strong>in</strong>the pregnant woman to modify immunoprophylaxis to her <strong>in</strong>fant needs further study.Sood A, S<strong>in</strong>gh D, Mehta S, Midha V, Kumar R. Response to <strong>hepatitis</strong> B vacc<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> pretermbabies. Indian J Gastroenterol 2002; 21:52-54.Department <strong>of</strong> Medic<strong>in</strong>e, Dayan<strong>and</strong> Medical College <strong>and</strong> Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab.A well-accepted vacc<strong>in</strong>ation schedule for preterm babies is not available. We therefore studied theresponse to <strong>hepatitis</strong> B vacc<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> preterm babies. Sixty babies born to HBsAg-negative motherswere studied. Group I (n = 20) consisted <strong>of</strong> term babies with birth weight > 2.5 kg, group II (n =20) <strong>in</strong>cluded preterm babies with birth weight between 1.8 <strong>and</strong> 2.49 kg, <strong>and</strong> group III (n = 20)<strong>in</strong>cluded preterm babies with birth weight between 1.2 <strong>and</strong> 1.79 kg. Mean gestational age <strong>in</strong> thethree groups was 38.5 (1.1), 33.5 (1.4) <strong>and</strong> 32.7 (2.1) weeks, respectively. All babies received 3doses (10 µg/0.5 ml) <strong>of</strong> a recomb<strong>in</strong>ant HBV vacc<strong>in</strong>e with<strong>in</strong> 3 days <strong>of</strong> birth, <strong>and</strong> at 6 weeks <strong>and</strong> 6months <strong>of</strong> life. Anti-HBs levels were measured one month after the 2nd <strong>and</strong> 3rd doses each; theimmune response was categorized as good responders (anti-HBs > 100 mIU/ml, low responders(anti-HBs 10-100 mIU/ml) <strong>and</strong> non-responders (anti-HBs < 10 mIU/ml). Good antibody responseafter the second dose was seen <strong>in</strong> 95% <strong>of</strong> babies <strong>in</strong> group I, 60% <strong>of</strong> those <strong>in</strong> group II <strong>and</strong> 10% <strong>of</strong>those <strong>in</strong> group III. This <strong>in</strong>creased to 100%, 90% <strong>and</strong> 45%, respectively after the third dose. Theresponse was <strong>in</strong>fluenced by gestational age (r = 0.73); 94% <strong>of</strong> babies with gestational age 34-36weeks atta<strong>in</strong>ed good antibody response compared to only 55% <strong>of</strong> babies with gestational age <strong>of</strong>31-33 weeks. Birth weight had no <strong>in</strong>dependent <strong>in</strong>fluence on the antibody response. The responseto <strong>hepatitis</strong> B vacc<strong>in</strong>e is <strong>in</strong>fluenced by gestational age. Hence, <strong>in</strong> preterm babies, it is advisable tocheck antibody titers one month after the third dose to assess the need for a booster dose.Sriprakash I, Anil TP. Rout<strong>in</strong>e prenatal screen<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> Indian women for HBsAg: benefits derivedversus cost. Trop Doc 1997; 27:176-177.Microbiology Department, MS Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, India.This study f<strong>in</strong>ds that pregnant mothers <strong>in</strong> India should receive prenatal screen<strong>in</strong>g for <strong>hepatitis</strong> B <strong>in</strong>order to prevent <strong>per<strong>in</strong>atal</strong> <strong>transmission</strong> <strong>and</strong> spread <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>fection with<strong>in</strong> the larger community.Neonates who contract <strong>hepatitis</strong> B will have an almost 90% risk <strong>of</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g chronic <strong>hepatitis</strong> Bsurface antigen (HBsAg) carriage <strong>and</strong> chronic liver disease. Infants may spread the disease tosibl<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>and</strong> others. Neonatal immunization with HBIG <strong>and</strong> HBV vacc<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong>terrupts vertical<strong>transmission</strong>. The US Centers for Disease Control recommend universal screen<strong>in</strong>g due to theaforementioned reasons. The study sample <strong>in</strong>cluded 520 third-trimester pregnant women whoattended a prenatal cl<strong>in</strong>ic at the Kempegowda Institute <strong>of</strong> Medical Sciences Hospital <strong>in</strong> Bangalore,India. Screen<strong>in</strong>g was conducted dur<strong>in</strong>g 1991-92. Serum samples were tested by ELISA us<strong>in</strong>gcommercial kits from Hoechst India. Positive samples were retested us<strong>in</strong>g Abbot's QUANTUM IIfor f<strong>in</strong>al confirmation. A full, detailed medical history <strong>of</strong> risk factors was collected for eachpatient. F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong>dicate that 24 samples (4.6%) were positive. The positive cases <strong>in</strong>cluded 8 withblood transfusions, 6 with a bad obstetric history, 4 with experience as health care workers <strong>and</strong> noimmunization, <strong>and</strong> 6 with no risk factors. The hospital cases fit the pattern among the generalpopulation. In India, about 30-40% <strong>of</strong> pregnant HBsAg carriers are HbeAg positive. The cost <strong>of</strong> a38

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