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Serosurvey of hepatitis B surface antigen in pregnant Saudi women
M K M Khalil1, Y Y Al-Mazrou, M Al-Jeffri
1Research Unit, Medical Education and Research Centre, King Fahd Specialist Hospital, Qassim, Saudi Arabia. statkhl@hotmail.com
Abstract:
In 1990, Saudi Arabia began vaccinating all children at school entry against hepatitis B. We evaluated hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence rate among pregnant Saudi women 12 years later in 5 regions of the country. Using multistage sampling, 2664 pregnant Saudi women were recruited. Blood samples were tested for HBsAg; positive samples were also tested for hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg). In all 2.44% were positive for HBsAg and 4 (0.15%) were also positive for HBeAg. HBsAg prevalence was highest in Gizan (4.2%) and lowest in Tabuk (1.4%). Positivity for women < or = 20 years of age was 0.5% compared with 2.6% for older women (P = 0.049). The overall HBsAg prevalence rate was lower than previously reported.
