title: Hepatitis B virus in the colostra of HBeAg-positive carrier mothers.
abstract: To investigate the amount of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in colostra of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive carrier mothers and the relationship of HBV amount between colostrum and maternal blood, 50 HBeAg-positive carrier mothers were recruited and studied for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) titer, HBeAg titer, and HBV-DNA concentration in their sera and colostra. According to the presence or absence of seral HBV-DNA determined by dot hybridization, these 50 HBeAg-positive carrier mothers could be divided into two groups: group 1 (n = 28, HBV-DNA < 0.04 ng/ml), and group 2 (n = 22, HBV-DNA > or = 0.04 ng/ml). The colostral HBsAg and HBeAg titers were both significantly higher in group 2 than in group 1. In addition, both colostral HBsAg and HBeAg titers had positive correlation with each corresponding maternal blood. Although the colostral HBV-DNA was undetectable by dot hybridization, all were positive by polymerase chain reaction with Southern blot hybridization. Because HBV-DNA can be detected in all HBeAg-positive carrier mother's milk, it reinforces the necessity of hepatitis B vaccination for the neonates born to these carrier mothers, particularly in countries with a high carrier rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002353:Carrier State / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology; D003126:Colostrum / Q000382:microbiology*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009035:Mothers; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens