Natural History of Hepatitis B Virus Carriers Born to Hepatitis B Virus Carrier Mothers

Abstract

AbstractNinety‐five infants born to hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier women were followed without hepatitis B immune globulin injections over five months. Twenty‐one infants (22%) became HBV carriers. These 21 HBV carrier children were followed and the mean follow‐up period is six years and nine months. Eighteen mothers (85.7%) of these HBV carrier children were HBeAg positive in perinatal period. One was both HBeAg and anti‐HBe negative and the status of the other two was unknown. The mean appearance time of HBsAg is 2.0 ± 1.2 months. Nine carrier children (42.9%) became HBeAg negative in the observation period. In seven cases (33.3%), seroconversion from HBeAg to anti‐HBe was observed. In six of seven seroconverted cases, liver dysfunction was observed from the HBeAg positive phase and the liver function normalized within one year after the appearance of anti‐HBe except in one case. The mean values of AST (Aspartate aminotransferase or SGOT) and ALT (Alanine aminotransferase or SGPT) of the seroconverted group during the whole observation period were significantly higher than those of the persistent HBeAg positive group. The HBeAg positive rate decreases year by year and inversely the anti‐HBe positive rate increases. At 8 years old, the former rate is 55.6%, and the latter rate is 33.3%. The mean annual disappearance rate of HBeAg under eight years is 10.1 ± 5.8% and the mean annual appearance rate of anti‐HBe under eight years is 6.1 ± 5.8%. The higher the mean annual disappearance rate of HBeAg, the lower the positive rate of HBeAg in pregnant women. This may contribute to the decrease in the appearance of new HBV carriers.