Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis b virus: Is elective cesarean section in highly viremic mothers an appropriate adjunct to immunoprophylaxis?

摘要

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infects more than 350 million people worldwide, and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is one of the major causes of chronic liver diseases leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.1 With the large and growing number of immigrants from the Asia/Pacific region where HBV is endemic, the number of those infected with HBV in the United States is increasing.1'2 In this population, more than 50% are thought to have acquired HBV infection through vertical transmission or mother-to-child transmission.