%0 Journal Article
%T Deficient Knowledge on Hepatitis B Infection in Pregnant Women and Prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Carriage in an Endemic Area: A Review
%A Oi Ka Chan
%A Terence T. Lao
%A Stephen S. H. Suen
%A Tak Yeung Leung
%J Hepatitis Research and Treatment
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/317451
%X Hepatitis B infection is a major global health problem. Vertical transmission is the commonest route of spreading hepatitis B virus (HBV) in many endemic areas. In order to control such transmission in Hong Kong, neonatal immunization programme was implemented for more than two decades. A declining prevalence of HBV infection was expected. However, the prevalence remained unabated at around 10% in recent studies. We suspect that one of the explanations of this persistent high prevalence is deficient knowledge on infection with the HBV and its prevention. Our paper gives an overview of the knowledge on HBV infection among Chinese population in both high and low endemic areas and discusses the potential factors that influenced the knowledge on as well as the implication of the sources of information for HBV infection, which was not addressed in previous studies. 1. Background Hepatitis B infection is a worldwide problem with over 350 million carriers [1]. Subjects with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are at increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis, and chronic hepatitis [2¨C4]. Chronic infection with HBV is endemic in the Asia-Pacific region and China. Hong Kong, as part of China, is a high-prevalence area for HBV infection according to the WHO definition, and antenatal screening for maternal infection, in the form of screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), is a standard procedure. Hong Kong is one of the first cities that introduced immunoprophylaxis to the neonates in 1983, with combined immunoglobulin and vaccine given to offspring of mothers with positive screening, and this was followed by universal vaccination to all newborn infants from 1988 [5, 6]. Compliance is ensured by means of a vaccination record issued to all children, which has to be checked by teachers at primary and secondary schools (under the enforced free education system) to ensure that incompletion of any vaccination could be remedied. Furthermore, all nonimmune adult residents of Hong Kong have opportunities in obtaining vaccination from various institutions such as universities and nongovernment organizations. Good compliance with the vaccination, especially in a nationwide government-initiated public health programme as implemented in Taiwan, has resulted in a decline in the HBV carrier rate in children from 10% to <1% and reduction in mortality from fulminant hepatitis and hepatoma in children [7, 8]. Yet in the past four decades, studies on maternal HBV infection in Hong Kong yielded the prevalence of 6.6% in 1976 [9], 7.4% in 1983 [10], and
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/heprt/2012/317451/