PURPOSE: to estimate the prevalence of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in parturients admitted to the "Instituto Materno-Infantil de Pernambuco (IMIP)", Recife-PE, and to determine the serologic profile of the positive ones. METHODS: this is a prospective cross-sectional study where the VIDAS and VIDAS HBs systems were used for detection and confirmation of HBsAg, respectively. The parturients were randomly selected. In HBsAg+ patients, the other serologic markers were tested by the use of the AxSYM automated system. The newborn babies of HBsAg+ mothers were vaccinated with the Engerix B vaccine. RESULTS: among 1584 parturients, there were 9 (0.6%) HBsAg positive. None of them had anti-HBc IgM, thus they were all prevalent cases. In 1/9 (11.1%) of the HBsAg+ mothers, HBeAg was isolated and in 4/9 (44.4%), this antigen circulated along with its antibody, hence the importance of establishing the different magnitudes of risk of vertical transmission. Except for two newborn babies from a twin pregnancy (one with low birth weight), all presented seroconversion to anti-HBs with 3 doses of the vaccine. The premature twin babies showed seroconvertion only after the fourth dose of the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: the prevalence of hepatitis B among parturients at IMIP is relatively low and all patients diagnosed had the chronic form of the infection.
Hepatitis B; Vertical transmission; Screening; Vaccination; Infections in pregnancy
