Prevalence of Serological Markers of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Related Risk Factors in Pregnant Women Referred to the Medical Diagnostic Laboratory of ACECR in Neyshabur, during 2014-2015

Introduction Mother to child transmission is one of the most common modes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The risk of transmission will be as high as 90% if a seroactivity for HBeAg find in the mother. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence of HBV serological markers in pregnant women referred to the Medical Diagnostic Laboratory of ACECR in Neyshabur, northeast of Iran. Materials and Methods From June 2014 to February 2015, the all pregnant women who referred for evaluation of HBV infection (n=1283) were enrolled. The serum samples were evaluated for HBsAg by ELISA test and further analyzed to detect other markers of the infection, including HBeAg, HBeAb, total HBcAb, and IgM HBcAb. Results HBsAg found in 1.09% (14/1283) of the participants. The total HBcAb test was positive in all cases; however, the IgM anti-HBc was positive in only two (14.3%) cases. Seropositivity for HBeAg and HBeAb were reported in 2 (14.3%) and 9 (64.28%) participants, respectively. Conclusion The prevalence of HBV infection in pregnant women in Neyshabur was lower than that in general population of Mashhad, capital city of Razavi Khorasan province, and general population of the whole of the country