Research Article
Hepatitis B virus infection among HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi and transmission to infants Charles S. Chasela1,2, , Athena P. Kourtis3,⇑, Patrick Wall2, Jan Drobeniuc4, Caroline C. King3, Hong Thai4, Eyasu H. Teshale4, Mina Hosseinipour1,5, Sascha Ellington3, Mary B. Codd2, Denise J. Jamieson3, Rod Knight6, Patricia Fitzpatrick2, Saleem Kamili4, Irving Hoffman5, Dumbani Kayira1, Noel Mumba1, Deborah D. Kamwendo1, Francis Martinson1, William Powderly2, Chong-Gee Teo4, Charles van der Horst5, on behalf of the BAN study team 1
UNC Project, P/Bag A-104, Lilongwe, Malawi; 2School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland; 3Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; 4Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; 5School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; 6Westat, Rockville, MD, USA
Background & Aims: The extent of HBV infection to infants of HBV/HIV-coinfected pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of HBV infection among antiretroviral-naïve, HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi and examine HBV transmission to their infants. Methods: Plasma from 2048 HIV-infected, Malawian women and their infants were tested for markers of HBV infection. Study participants were provided standard-of-care health services, which included administration of pentavalent vaccine to infants at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age. Results: One-hundred and three women (5%) were HBsAgpositive; 70 of these HBsAg-positive women were also HBVDNA-positive. Sixteen women (0.8%) were HBV-DNA-positive but HBsAg-negative. Five of 51 infants (9.8%) born to HBsAgpositive and/or HBV-DNA-positive women were HBV-DNA-positive by 48 weeks of age. HBV DNA concentrations of two infants of mothers who received extended lamivudine-containing anti-HIV prophylaxis were
Hepatitis B virus infection among HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi and transmission to infants Charles S. Chasela1,2, , Athena P. Kourtis3,⇑, Patrick Wall2, Jan Drobeniuc4, Caroline C. King3, Hong Thai4, Eyasu H. Teshale4, Mina Hosseinipour1,5, Sascha Ellington3, Mary B. Codd2, Denise J. Jamieson3, Rod Knight6, Patricia Fitzpatrick2, Saleem Kamili4, Irving Hoffman5, Dumbani Kayira1, Noel Mumba1, Deborah D. Kamwendo1, Francis Martinson1, William Powderly2, Chong-Gee Teo4, Charles van der Horst5, on behalf of the BAN study team 1
UNC Project, P/Bag A-104, Lilongwe, Malawi; 2School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland; 3Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; 4Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; 5School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; 6Westat, Rockville, MD, USA
Background & Aims: The extent of HBV infection to infants of HBV/HIV-coinfected pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of HBV infection among antiretroviral-naïve, HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi and examine HBV transmission to their infants. Methods: Plasma from 2048 HIV-infected, Malawian women and their infants were tested for markers of HBV infection. Study participants were provided standard-of-care health services, which included administration of pentavalent vaccine to infants at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age. Results: One-hundred and three women (5%) were HBsAgpositive; 70 of these HBsAg-positive women were also HBVDNA-positive. Sixteen women (0.8%) were HBV-DNA-positive but HBsAg-negative. Five of 51 infants (9.8%) born to HBsAgpositive and/or HBV-DNA-positive women were HBV-DNA-positive by 48 weeks of age. HBV DNA concentrations of two infants of mothers who received extended lamivudine-containing anti-HIV prophylaxis were
