[Selective screening for hepatitis B in pregnant women in Denmark]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the present Danish selective screening strategy for possible hepatitis B infection in pregnant women who themselves or whose partners originate from medium- or high-endemic hepatitis B areas of the world. We also investigated whether children of hepatitis B carriers were treated with immunoglobulin and vaccination.

We did a retrospective study of 1,924 birth notification forms of women who had delivered between 1 January and 30 June 2000 in Frederiksborg County, Denmark. Women were selected who had foreign-sounding names. The hospital case notes were examined to determine the women's countries of origin and their hepatitis B screening status. We then contacted the Department of Clinical Immunology of each hospital and the Danish State Serum Institute to double-check the women's screening status.

The study included 210 women, who made up nearly 11% of this cohort. Sixty-eight (32%) of the women had been tested according to the guidelines. One woman was a hepatitis B carrier. Her child had received immunoglobulin and vaccination within 24 hours of birth.

This study indicates that a selective antenatal screening program for hepatitis B is difficult to implement in daily clinical practice. The fact that only one third of this well-defined risk group had been tested for hepatitis B emphasizes the need for a universal antenatal screening program.