Abstract
In Reply.— Dr Ross questions two issues discussed in the ACIP 1 recommendations for routine HBsAg screening of pregnant women: the scientific justification that treatment for infants born to hepatitis B virus carrier mothers be initiated within 24 hours of birth and the feasibility of obtaining HBsAg test results within 24 hours for women who come to the hospital to deliver without prior HBsAg screening. The scientific basis of the need for rapid treatment of exposed infants stems from early studies of the efficacy of hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) in the prevention of perinatal hepatitis B virus transmission. One study showed that a single dose of HBIG had a 50% efficacy if given within the first 48 hours of life but had no efficacy if given later. 2 On the basis of this information, in all subsequent studies of HBIG and hepatitis vaccine researchers administered the HBIG as soon
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