Active-passive Immunization Effectiveness Against Hepatitis B Virus in Children Born to HBsAg Positive Mothers in Amol, North of Iran.

OBJECTIVES HBV infection is a contagious disease that may transmit vertically from mothers to their neonates or horizontally by blood products and body secretions. Over 50% of Iranian carriers have contracted the infection perinatally, making this the most likely route of transmission of HBV in Iran. This study assesses the serologic markers of HBV in children born to HBsAg positive mothers who received HBIG and 3 doses of HBV vaccine. METHODS To evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination against HBV, a study was conducted on 95 Children, born to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive mothers, who had received Hepatitis B Immune Globulin and HBV vaccines during 2004-2008. All children were tested for the presence of HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HB core antigen (anti-HBc). RESULTS Among an estimated 30000 pregnant women during the five year study, about 130 (0.42%) were HBV carriers. Ninety-five children from these mothers were enrolled in this study. Only one child (1.1%) was HBsAg positive, while 88.4% of children were Anti-HBs Positive. Eleven children (11.6%) were exposed to HBV as shown by the presence of anti-HBc. A significant difference was observed between the children's age and Anti-HBs (p=0.0001). CONCLUSION Passive-active immunoprophylaxis of high risk babies was highly efficacious in preventing perinatal transmission of the HBV carrier state. Also, evaluation of serologic markers in HBV infected people is important for designing the strategies for disease control.