Overview of a Provincial Prenatal Communicable Disease Screening Program: 2002-2016

This study sought to provide a 14-year overview of serological results from a provincial prenatal screening program.

Prenatal screening data from August 2002 to December 2016 were extracted from the Alberta Public Health Laboratory (ProvLab) Information system. Data were analyzed by year, communicable disease marker, test result, and maternal age category. The age-stratified proportion of seropositive results for hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and syphilis was determined, and the proportion of seronegative results was determined for rubella and varicella. The Mann Kendall Trend Test was performed to identify significant temporal trends in the results (Canadian Task Force Classification II-2).

In total 821 910 prenatal specimens were examined. Overall, the proportion of prenatal specimens positive for hepatitis B virus showed a slight statistically significant upward trend from 0.50% in 2003 to 0.58% in 2016 (P = 0.03). The proportion of positive human immunodeficiency virus prenatal specimens showed no significant trend over the study period. The proportion of positive syphilis specimens increased from 2006 to 2008 (0.07% to 0.21%; P < 0.0001) and stayed relatively constant until a decrease began in 2015. The proportion of seronegative specimens for varicella and rubella showed a significant upward trend of 0.48% per year (P < 0.01) and 0.88% per year (P < 0.01), respectively.

The Alberta Prenatal Screening Program for Selected Communicable Diseases presents a unique data set that allows us to look at screening results on a provincial level. Trends in results are reflective of communicable disease trends in the general population and should be monitored for effective infectious disease management of the maternal and newborn population.