Materno-foetal transmission of hepatitis B infection

H A Badawy1, E El-Salahy

  • 1Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Ain Shams University.

A cross-sectional study was carried out on 352 pregnant women, chosen randomly from those admitted to the labour ward of Ain Shams University Hospitals, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of HBsAg among pregnant women and estimate the materno-foetal transmission. The prevalence of HBsAg among studied women was 15.3%, however, 7.1% showed inconclusive positive results. The materno-foetal transmission was documented in 51.8% of positive HBSAg women. Hepatitis B infection among studied women was usually acquired after 20 years of age. Logistic regression model with stepwise forward selection, demonstrated that maternal age, past history of blood transfusion and abortions were contributing factors for +ve HBsAg maternal status, while parity and past history of abortions were contributing factors in materno-foetal transmission.

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