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Am J Dis Child. 1988;142(9):921-923.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Infants born to mothers positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B "e" antigen (HBeAg) have a 70%-90% chance of acquiring perinatal HBV infection, and 85%-90% of infected infants will become chronic HBV carriers.^1,2 More than 25% of these carriers will die from primary hepatocellular carcinoma or cirrhosis of the liver.³ In the United States, an estimated 16,500 births occur to HBsAg-positive women each year (about 4,300 of whom are also HBeAg-positive), and approximately 3,500 of these infants become chronic HBV carriers. Prenatal screening of all pregnant women would identify those who are HBsAg- positive and thus would allow treatment of their newborns with hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) and hepatitis B (HB) vaccine, a regimen that is 85%-95% effective in preventing the development of the HBV chronic carrier state.^2,4-6

In 1984, the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP) recommended that pregnant women in certain groups . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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