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TRANSMISSION OF HEPATITIS B ANTIGENS FROM SYMPTOM FREE CARRIER MOTHERS TO THE FETUS AND THE INFANT
Author(s) -
Wong Vivian C. W.,
Lee A. K. Y.,
Ip Henrietta M. H.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1980.tb04458.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hbeag , hbsag , obstetrics , caesarean section , hepatitis b , transmission (telecommunications) , fetus , hepatitis , incidence (geometry) , umbilical cord , pregnancy , throat , hepatitis b virus , immunology , virus , surgery , biology , physics , optics , electrical engineering , genetics , engineering
Summary Materno‐fetal transmission of hepatitis B was studied in 97 healthy carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Antepartum transmission occurred in at least 10 per cent. Intrapartum transmission may have occurred in about 40 per cent as a result of swallowing of the infective fluid by the baby during delivery, and materno‐fetal transfusion during labour. Person to person transmission after delivery played a minor role. The presence of hepatitis B associated e antigen (HBeAg) in 48 per cent of maternal serum correlated strongly with the subsequent presence of antigen in the infants. There was a linear association between the incidence of antigens in cord blood and the duration of the first stage of labour, with a significant association when labour exceeded nine hours. Caesarean section is recommended if mothers have HBeAg; likewise amniocentesis and breast feeding should be discouraged if mothers have HBeAg.