Primary health care in China: is China's health reform reform for the whole nation?

Background: Good primary health care can enhance national health status at relatively low cost. The barefoot doctor model in China was once considered to have been a successful health care policy. It was a model which was followed by other low-developed or developing countries.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell traffic plays a crucial role in mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis B virus.

The role of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in HBV intrauterine infection is not fully defined. Particularly the origin of PBMCs in HBV-infected neonates remains to be addressed. We carried out a population-based nested case-control study by enrolling 312 HBsAg-positive mothers and their babies.

Association between the frequency of class II HLA antigens and the susceptibility to intrauterine infection of hepatitis B virus.

Multiple factors determine the susceptibility to intrauterine hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. These factors include the HBV structure, HBV mutation, HBV DNA level, placental barrier, the immune status of the mother, and the genetic make-ups of the newborn infants. Since HLA system is an integral component of the immune response, we hypothesized that the highly polymorphic HLA genes are the key determinants of intrauterine HBV infection.