Abstract
In 1985, the Government of Japan started a nationwide prevention program for mother-to-infant infection by hepatitis B virus (HBV). Every pregnant woman has been screened, and the babies born to mothers with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) carrier status have been treated with hepatitis B hyper-immune globulin (HBIG) and HBV vaccine. From June, 1985 to March, 1992, 7 608 091 pregnant women were examined, and 19 832 infants born to HBeAg-positive carrier mothers were treated according to the program. In recent years, 93% to 97% of all the pregnant women in Japan were enrolled in the program. Before the program was started, the estimated number of HBV carriers among the babies born in Japan was approximately 3700/year or 0.26%. It was estimated to have decreased to approximately 470 per year (0.04%) in 1992 as a direct result of the nationwide prevention program.
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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Tokyo
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Shiraki, K. (1994). Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus and its Prevention in Japan. In: Nishioka, K., Suzuki, H., Mishiro, S., Oda, T. (eds) Viral Hepatitis and Liver Disease. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68255-4_138
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68255-4_138
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-68257-8
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