Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen among pregnant women in a low-risk population.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B carriers among our low-risk obstetric population and to determine the need for routine screening.


METHODS
A group of 1224 pregnant women, admitted to Gazi University Medical Center, were screened for HBsAg using an enzyme-immunoassay technique, and the obstetrical care records were reviewed.


RESULTS
Fifty-three patients were seropositive with a prevalence of 4.33% for HBV chronic carrier status in our obstetric population.


CONCLUSIONS
Routine HBsAg screening is advisable in our antenatal population.
Erdem
M
M
Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ankara, Turkey.
Sahin
I
I
Erdem
A
A
Gürsoy
R
R
Yildiz
A
A
Güner
H
H
D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines