Acute hepatitis B in infants born to HBsAg asymptomatic carrier mothers

Within an eight-month period, five cases of acute hepatitis B were observed in children born to asymptomatic HBsAg carrier mothers. At delivery, four mothers were HBeAg-positive and one was anti-HBe-positive. At an average age of 17 \ub1 3 weeks the infants showed high transaminases levels and appearance of markers of HBV infection. Three children became HBsAg chronic carriers, one had a brief HBsAg-antigenemia (1 week), while the last one showed clinical and biochemical signs of hepatitis B in absence of detectable HBsAg but with anti-HBc and anti-HBe (window phase) and later became anti-HBs-positive