Work

Prevention of HBV Mother‐To‐Child Transmission ( MTCT ) Using Targeted HBV Birth Dose, and Treatment of High Viral Load Pregnant Women in Uganda

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) remains a major challenge in Uganda, where 43% of births occur at home, and access to timely birth dose (BD) vaccination is limited. We evaluated the impact of combining universal three-dose (3D) infant vaccination, targeted BD vaccination, and maternal antiviral treatment for high viral load (HVL) mothers on HBV prevalence among infants. In a prospective 18-month cohort study at five regional maternity hospitals, HIV-negative pregnant women were screened for HBsAg. HBsAg-positive mothers were stratified by HBV DNA into HVL (≥ 20,000 IU/mL), low viral load (LVL), or LVL on treatment. HVL mothers received Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate plus Lamivudine in the third trimester. Infants of HBsAg-positive mothers received BD vaccination within 24 h and the 3D pentavalent series; infants of HBsAg-negative mothers received the 3D series only. All infants were tested for HBsAg at nine months. Of 19,053 mothers screened, 3.46% were HBsAg-positive (n = 660). Among HVL mothers (n = 80), 96.3% initiated antivirals; none of their infants who received both BD and 3D tested HBsAg-positive. Among LVL mothers not on treatment (n = 558), the prevalence of infection at nine months was 0.4% despite full vaccination. No infections occurred among LVL mothers on treatment or among infants of HBsAg-negative mothers. Overall infant HBsAg prevalence was 0.19%, with an adjusted national estimate of 0.02%. Integrating maternal antiviral prophylaxis, targeted BD vaccination, and universal 3D vaccination achieved near-elimination of HBV MTCT in this setting. Nationally scaling this strategy could enable Uganda to meet the WHO target of less than 0.1% infant HBV prevalence before 2030 and serve as a model for other high-burden countries with significant rates of home births.

Source: Journal of Viral Hepatitis

DOI: 10.1111/jvh.70215