Prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in Pregnant Women in Zahedan, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus is one of the most common chronic infections in the world. Over half of the world population has been exposed to this virus. It is estimated that 3% of Iranian population are chronic carriers.Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis B infection in pregnant women in Zahedan, Iran.Method: In this cross-sectional study in a period of one month in Zahedan, total cases of 200 pregnant women were enrolled in our study. Sera obtained from these pregnant women were evaluated for HBsAg by ELISA method.Result: Our data showed that 6.5% of the pregnant women had a positive test for HBsAg. Conclusion: It seems that hepatitis B infection is highly endemic at least in pregnant women in Zahedan. On the basis of these epidemiologic data, screening of all pregnant women is necessary.