Prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and status of HBV care among rural women who planned to conceive in China

Yuanyuan Wang,Yanjie Huang,Man Zhang,Anqi Wang,Jing Xu ,Kenrad E Nelson ,Qiu‐Yue Zhong ,Honggang Zhang ,Yan Wang,Hong Zhou,Long Zhang,Yuan He,Xiaona Xin,Yiping Zhang,Ya Zhang,Qiaomei Wang,Donghai Yan,Xiaoli Liu,Zuoqi Peng,Ying Yang,Jun Zhao,Haiping Shen,Xu Ma

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-12005-2

Abstract

Globally, one third of prevalent chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection (HBV) occurred in China. Assessing the prevalence of CHB infesction and status of HBV-related services among pre-conception women will provide insight into risks of mother to child transmission (MTCT). A cross-sectional analysis of data from the National Free Pre-pregnancy Checkups (NFPC) program in 2010–2014 was conducted. A standardized questionnaire which collected demographic information and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) which tested serological HBV markers were applied. A total of 16,051,850 rural women aged 15–49 years were included. 5.2% of women were infected with CHB, among whom, 28.6% were also hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive. The most CHB concentrated places were distributed in southeastern coastal provinces. Women born after 1992 did not experience a higher level of vaccine-induced immunity compared to those born before 1992. Nine in ten rural women with CHB were not aware of their HBV status and a very small proportion of women (0.22%) had received antiviral treatment. Our data demonstrated an overall high-intermediate burden of CHB. Heterogeneity of geographic distribution, high proportion of HBeAg, insufficient awareness of HBV status, and low access to HBV treatment are challenges for preventing the MTCT.

Highlights

Rural women in China often had poor education and limited resources[6] and were likely to resemble populations from other low and middle income countries in terms of education and available resources
We reported the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), geographic distribution and status of hepatitis B-related services among 16 million rural women aged 15–49 years in China, evaluated the effect of the national hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection (HBV) immunization program on serological outcome in women born before and after 1992 and main focused on challenges on mother to child transmission of HBV
Between 2010 and 2014, a total of 17,066,759 women were recorded in the National Free Pre-pregnancy Checkups (NFPC) program. 16,830,893 (98.6%) of them completed HBV serological testing, and 16,051,850 (94.1%) women with complete demographic information were included in the analysis

Summary

Introduction

Rural women in China often had poor education and limited resources[6] and were likely to resemble populations from other low and middle income countries in terms of education and available resources. Knowing their status of CHB and status of hepatitis B-related services will have important implications onglobal control of CHB. We reported the prevalence of CHB, geographic distribution and status of hepatitis B-related services among 16 million rural women aged 15–49 years in China, evaluated the effect of the national HBV immunization program on serological outcome in women born before and after 1992 and main focused on challenges on mother to child transmission of HBV

Methods

Results

Conclusion