Antenatal screening for detection of hepatitis B carrier state

ABSTRACT

The screening for hepatitis B carrier state was carried out on the sera of 205 asymptomatic pregnant women coming for antenatal checkup at the Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi. The sero analysis for hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection, was performed at two reputable centres, one in the Army Medical College, Rawalpindi and the other in the U.S.A [NIH, Bethesda, Maryland]. The results showed hepatitis B surface antigen to be positive in 16 [7.8%] women, while hepatitis e antigen was negative in all the cases, but antibody to hepatitis B core antigen [anti-HBc] was detected in 68 [33.2%] of them. The usefuluness and implications of these findings are discussed. It is recommended that further studies, to delineate the maternal HBV carrier rate with the possible threat of vertical transmission, be carried out during the antenatal period in our pregnant females in other parts of Pakistan