in young adults infection only becomes chronic in around 1-6% of people. This contrasts with infection in older people where eg. Those with chronic infection are at risk of liver cancer, scarring of the liver and liver failure. In the vast majority of infected newborns (>90%), the immune system is not able to clear the infection and the virus continues to multiply in the body. These complications include liver failure, cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer (HCC). Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is important because most hepatitis B complications occur in those who were infected by vertical transmission. It is a shocking fact that less than 10% of African newborns receive HBV vaccine at birth and less than 1% of pregnant women are screened and treated in the WHO Africa region. This is despite the number of infections in the community being high (>8%) and the African region having the greatest number of HBV infections in children under 5 years of age, estimated at 2.3% in 2017. Worldwide, mother to child transmission is responsible for most infections of hepatitis B and the majority of complications of hepatitis B infection occur in those who acquired infection through vertical transmission.Īfrica has lagged behind in the implementation of ways to prevent HBV mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). Most vertical transmission occurs at or near the time of birth, rarely transmission can occur in-utero. Vertical transmission may occur during pregnancy or the perinatal period. This is known as ‘vertical transmission’. Hepatitis B virus can be passed from mother to child and result in long term hepatitis B infection in the child.
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