ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To detect father-to-fetus transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in utero. METHODS: We conducted a study at the prenatal diagnosis center of Taizhou City. Fetuses with one or both parents carrying the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were identified before genetic testing during the period 2008-2010. Intrauterine samples were obtained by amniocentesis or cordocentesis and tested for serological markers and by quantitative DNA assays. All neonates received combined hepatitis B immunoprophylaxis after delivery, and serological follow-up tests were performed at 1 year of age. RESULTS: Of the 407 couples enrolled in the study, HBV was carried by fathers only in 164, and none of their fetuses were found to be HBV DNA-positive in utero. All fetal serological markers were found to be of maternal but not paternal origin. The response rate to postnatal vaccination was 98.6%, and none of the children who failed immunoprophylaxis were the offspring of the HBV carrier fathers. CONCLUSIONS: The infection of fetuses with HBV from the spermatozoa of carrier fathers seems unlikely, especially in an area where pre-conception hepatitis B vaccination is routinely provided.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/immunology , Hepatitis B/transmission , Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious , Spermatozoa/immunology , Amniocentesis , Carrier State/immunology , China , DNA, Viral/analysis , Female , Fetus/immunology , Fetus/virology , Germ Cells/immunology , Hepatitis B/immunology , Hepatitis B/prevention & control , Hepatitis B virus/genetics , Hepatitis B virus/immunology , Hepatitis B virus/isolation & purification , Humans , Infant , Male , Pregnancy , Seroepidemiologic StudiesABSTRACT
The objective of this work was to evaluate whether postnatal hepatitis B immunization failure in children is caused by prenatal infections. A prospective study was conducted from October 2006 to September 2008. Fetal samples from HBsAg-positive mothers were retrieved by either amniocentesis or cordocentesis (percutaneous umbilical blood sampling [PUBS]). Hepatitis B virus (HBV) serologic markers (HBVM) and quantitative HBV DNA assays were performed to assess prenatal infection. All neonates were given combined HBV immunoprophylaxis after delivery. The newborns were followed up with HBV serologic testing at 1 year old. For the 252 pregnant women recruited, 16 fetuses were found to be HBV DNA positive, with all HBV DNA levels under 10(4) copies/ml. HBsAg and HBV DNA detected in the uterus were uncommon and were expressed at low levels. In contract to the case with prenatal statuses, neonatal serologies were more similar to their mothers'. The response rate of vaccination was 95%. Six children for whom immunoprophylaxis failed were born to HBeAg-positive mothers with high HBV DNA levels (>10(8) copies/ml), but only one of them was found to be positive for intrauterine HBV DNA (8.5 × 10(2) copies/ml). The presence of intrauterine hepatitis B antigen and DNA does not indicate postnatal HBV infection and vaccination failure.
