Perinatal prevalence of B hepatitis markers

The present investigation describes the prevalence of markers detected in immunoenzymatic methods, for infection by the hepatitis B virus in sera of mothers and newborn umbilical cord blood in Merida, Venezuela. The sample population was composed of 500 mothers who attended the Obstetrics Department, University Hospital of los Andes, for their delivery between May and October 1990. The global prevalence figure of 11.8% showed a balanced distribution for surface antigen and its antibody. Prevalence for the urban area was 13.49% (RR = 1.49) and 11.80% for mothers from the rural zones (RR = 0.67), 95%, IC 0.63 to 1.9). A statistical difference was found between mothers with two or more live children (14 cases) and those with one or no children (7 cases) for anti-HBs (X2 = 7.62, p < 0.05, RR = 1.43, CI 0.47 to 2.86). Mothers with a history of several sexual partners showed a prevalence of 18.0%, RR = 1.5, CI 0.58 to 2.44, while those who were students, 18.3%, RR = 1.64, CI 0.94 to 2.5. These data may be indicating that sexual transmission mechanisms are of utmost importance, yet more precise investigations are required to confirm this hypothesis. Blood samples from umbilical cord were all negative for surface antigen.