Volume 191 - Issue 6
Perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus: an Australian experience
Authors: Miriam T Levy and Elke Wiseman
Med J Aust 2009; 191 (6): 357. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02829.x
Published online: 21 September 2009
Published online: 21 September 2009
In reply: We thank Thompson for her comments.
We endeavoured to contact women by phone, by letter, or through their local doctor (if known). With respect to the 69 infants lost to follow-up, five of the mothers declined assessment, four had moved interstate or overseas with their families, five had infants who had not reached 9 months of age, and the remaining mothers were uncontactable. Follow-up of a cohort of this kind is difficult, for reasons that include language barriers and high rates of mobility. Furthermore, at the time of the study, testing the babies was not standard practice and not enthusiastically received by all mothers. We are not a public health unit and are not resourced to pursue follow-up beyond the measures described. Nevertheless, through strong engagement with the mothers, who were referred on the basis of their hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, we achieved follow-up for a large number of babies. The data stand as valuable but not perfect.
As mentioned in our article,1 vaccination practice for babies born to infected mothers is for hepatitis B immunoglobulin and the first HBV vaccine dose to be given (in opposite thighs) within 12 hours of birth. The babies’ vaccination records were checked by consulting the “blue book”, a standardised medical record for infants, and, for those infected, by cross-checking with the hospital medication chart.
References
- Wiseman E, Fraser MA, Holden S, et al. Perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus: an Australian experience. Med J Aust 2009; 190: 489-492. 0_CGJEIFCG