@article{fdi:010075679,
  title = {{P}erinatal hepatitis {B} virus transmission in {L}ao {PDR} : a prospective cohort study},
  author = {{L}atthaphasavang, {V}. and {V}anhems, {P}. and {N}go-{G}iang-{H}uong, {N}icole and {S}ibounlang, {P}. and {P}aboriboune, {P}. and {M}alato, {L}. and {K}eoluangkhot, {V}. and {T}hammasack, {S}. and {S}alvadori, {N}icolas and {K}hamduang, {W}. and {S}teenkeste, {N}. and {T}repo, {C}. and {D}eny, {P}. and {J}ourdain, {G}onzague},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{B}ackground {M}other-to-child transmission of hepatitis {B} virus ({HBV}) is the main cause of new infections worldwide. {W}e aimed at assessing the percentage of infants successfully immunized in two major hospitals in {V}ientiane, {L}ao {PDR} where {HB} immune globulin ({HBI}g) is not available. {M}ethods {W}e studied a prospective cohort of chronically {HBV} infected pregnant women and their infants until 6 months post-partum from {J}anuary 2015 to {M}arch 2017. {A}ll infants received {HB} vaccine at birth and 6, 10 and 14 weeks thereafter, and {HBV} status was assessed at 6 months of age. {HBV} surface gene sequencing was performed in infected mother-infant pairs. {R}esults {O}f 153 mothers with {HB} surface antigen ({HB}s{A}g), 60 (39%) had detectable serum {HB}e antigen ({HB}e{A}g). {HB}e{A}g positive pregnant women were younger than those negative (median age 26 versus 28 years; p = 0.02) and had a significantly higher {HBV} viral load at delivery (median 8.0 versus 4.0 log(10) {IU}/m{L}, p < 0.001). {A}mong the 120 infants assessed at 6 months of age, 5 (4%) were positive for {HB}s{A}g and had detectable {HBV} viral load by polymerase chain reaction. {A}ll were born to mothers with {HB}e{A}g and viral load >8.5 log(10) {IU}/m{L}. {H}owever, only four (3.3%, 95% {CI} 0.5% to 7.0%) had a virus strain closely related to their mother's strain. {HBV} surface gene mutations were detected in 4 of the 5 infected infants. {A}nti-{HB}s antibody levels were below 10 {IU}/{L} in 10 (9%) uninfected infants at 6 months of age. {C}onclusions {M}other-to-child transmission occurred less frequently than expected without the use of {HBI}g. {A}dding {HBI}g and/or maternal antiviral prophylaxis may have prevented some of these infections. {T}he observation of unsatisfactory levels of anti-{HB}s antibodies in 9% of the uninfected infants at 6 months highlights the need for improvement of the universal immunization procedures.},
  keywords = {{LAOS}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{PL}o{S} {O}ne},
  volume = {14},
  numero = {4},
  pages = {art. e0215011 [14]},
  ISSN = {1932-6203},
  year = {2019},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pone.0215011},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010075679},
}