Spontaneous preterm birth in women with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Objective: To determine whether chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, as evidenced by serum levels of HBsAg and HBV DNA, is a risk factor for spontaneous preterm birth (SPB).

Method: The prevalence of HBV infection and the SPB rate were prospectively investigated among 1826 pregnant women, 30.89% Albanian and the remainder of other European origins.

Surveillance for hepatitis B virus infection in pregnant women in Greece shows high rates of chronic infection among immigrants and low vaccination-induced protection rates: preliminary results of a single center study.

Epidemiological data on the prevalence of serological markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in pregnant women in Greece are limited. We evaluated the prevalence of HBV serological markers in a multinational population of pregnant women in Athens, Greece. The overall prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) was 4.

Serological and virological profile of chronic HBV infected women at reproductive age in Greece. A two-year single center study.

Objective: Seroprevalence of HBsAg in 26,746 women at reproductive age in Greece and evaluation of HBeAg/anti-HBe serological status as well as serum HBV-DNA levels in a subgroup of HBsAg(+) women at labor.

Study Design: Serological markers were detected using enzyme immunoassays. Serum HBV-DNA was calculated using a sensitive quantitative PCR assay, with a lower limit of quantification of 200 copies/ml.

HBeAg negative serological status and low viral replication levels characterize chronic hepatitis B virus-infected women at reproductive age in Greece: a one-year prospective single center study.

Aim: To evaluate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in 13 581 women at reproductive age and the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)/anti-HBe status as well as serum hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA levels in a subgroup of HBsAg(+) pregnant women at labor in Greece.

Methods: Serological markers were detected using enzyme immunoassays. Serum HBV-DNA was determined by a sensitive quantitative PCR assay.