Chronic and Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Pregnant Women in Botswana (original) (raw)
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global problem; however, the burden of HBV infection in pregnant women in Botswana is unknown. We sought to determine the prevalence of chronic and occult HBV infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and -uninfected pregnant women in Botswana. Samples from 752 pregnant women were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and HBsAg-positive samples were tested for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and HBV DNA load. Samples that were HBsAg negative were screened for occult HBV infection by determining the HBV DNA load. HBV genotypes were determined based on a 415-base-pair fragment of the surface gene. Among the 752 women tested during pregnancy or early postpartum, 16 (2.1%) (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.0⁻2.2) were HBsAg-positive. The prevalence of chronic HBV infection was higher (3.1%) among HIV-infected (95% CI: 3.0⁻3.2) compared with HIV-uninfected women (1.1%) (95% CI: 1.07⁻1.1, = 0.057). Among the 622 HBsAg-negative women, ...
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.