title: Prevalence of hepatitis B infection in women delivering at a community health centre in Dili, Timor-Leste and discussion of programmatic challenges.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Limited data regarding prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Timor-Leste exist.
  
  
  METHODS
  An observational study of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) results of women delivering at Bairo Pite Clinic in Dili, Timor-Leste was carried out.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 781 women included in the study, 80.5% (626/777) of women who had accessed antenatal care had been tested for HBsAg, of whom 2.2% (14/626) were positive. Of the remaining women, 83.2% (129/155) received a test at the time of delivery, of whom 5.4% (7/129) were positive. Overall prevalence of HBsAg positivity was 2.8% (21/755).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further studies are urgently needed to establish the prevalence of HBV infection in Timor-Leste, particularly in pregnant women. Findings from this study suggest that routine HBV immunisation of newborns should be instituted promptly.
authors.affiliation: Bairo Pite Clinic, Dili, Timor-Leste Department of Infectious Diseases, Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, HU16 5JQ, UK charlotteamyhall@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Bairo Pite Clinic, Dili, Timor-Leste Tobwabba Aboriginal Medical Service, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.affiliation: Bairo Pite Clinic, Dili, Timor-Leste.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Bairo Pite Clinic, Dili, Timor-Leste Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia Department of Paediatrics, University of Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nourse
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D015995:Prevalence; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
keywords: Hepatitis B; Immunisation; Prenatal care; Prevalence; Timor-Leste; Vaccination