Rania A. Tohme, Su Wang, Benjamin Cowie, Sandra Dudareva, Carolyn Wester
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer causing 1.1 million deaths globally in 2022 [1]. In 2022, an estimated 254 million persons were living with chronic HBV infection. Globally, HBV is mainly acquired through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) at birth (vertical or perinatal transmission), and during early childhood (horizontal transmission). Up to 90% of newborns who acquire HBV through MTCT will develop chronic hepatitis B compared to 30%–50% of children infected between the ages of 1–5 years, while <5% of those infected in adulthood develop chronic hepatitis B [2]. The hepatitis B vaccine is >90% effective at preventing infections and is given as a series starting with a dose of monovalent vaccine within 24 hours of birth (hepatitis B-birth dose [hepB-BD]) (70%–95% effective in preventing perinatal HBV infection), followed by two or three additional doses during infancy [2].
Elimination targets for MTCT of HBV include achieving ≤0.1% prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in children ≤5 years of age, and ≥90% coverage with timely HepB-BD and three doses of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB3) [3]. In addition, countries that provide selective HepB-BD (e.g. only to infants with known exposure) need to screen ≥90% of pregnant women for hepatitis B and treat ≥90% of those eligible [3]. Prevention of HBV infection in infancy and childhood through vaccination and treatment of pregnant women would be the most impactful interventions to reduce the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B in the population.
An analysis of the impact of childhood vaccination in 98 low- and middle-income countries showed that hepatitis B vaccination will have prevented 38 million (range: 25–52 million) deaths over the lifetime of those born from 2000 to 2030, which was second only to measles vaccine [4]. Yet, despite the availability of safe and effective hepatitis B vaccines since 1982, coverage with timely hepB-BD has been suboptimal in most regions (Figure 1). By 2023, 140 of 195 (72%) countries have introduced either universal or selective HepB-BD, with 115 (59%) countries providing HepB-BD to all newborns [5]. In 2022, almost 5.6 million children aged ≤5 years were living with HBV infection [6]. In the World Health Organization (WHO) African region where the burden of HBV infection in children is the highest, only 16 of 47 (34%) countries have introduced HepB-BD mainly due to lack of financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance [7]. In 2020, Gavi approved funding for HepB-BD introduction; however, this was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2024, Gavi launched official funding support for eligible countries for HepB-BD introduction [8]. Countries must now take urgent action to introduce HepB-BD, including submitting applications for Gavi fund
{"title":"Eliminating perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus: it is time for action","authors":"Rania A. Tohme, Su Wang, Benjamin Cowie, Sandra Dudareva, Carolyn Wester","doi":"10.1002/jia2.26337","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jia2.26337","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer causing 1.1 million deaths globally in 2022 [<span>1</span>]. In 2022, an estimated 254 million persons were living with chronic HBV infection. Globally, HBV is mainly acquired through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) at birth (vertical or perinatal transmission), and during early childhood (horizontal transmission). Up to 90% of newborns who acquire HBV through MTCT will develop chronic hepatitis B compared to 30%–50% of children infected between the ages of 1–5 years, while <5% of those infected in adulthood develop chronic hepatitis B [<span>2</span>]. The hepatitis B vaccine is >90% effective at preventing infections and is given as a series starting with a dose of monovalent vaccine within 24 hours of birth (hepatitis B-birth dose [hepB-BD]) (70%–95% effective in preventing perinatal HBV infection), followed by two or three additional doses during infancy [<span>2</span>].</p><p>Elimination targets for MTCT of HBV include achieving ≤0.1% prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in children ≤5 years of age, and ≥90% coverage with timely HepB-BD and three doses of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB3) [<span>3</span>]. In addition, countries that provide selective HepB-BD (e.g. only to infants with known exposure) need to screen ≥90% of pregnant women for hepatitis B and treat ≥90% of those eligible [<span>3</span>]. Prevention of HBV infection in infancy and childhood through vaccination and treatment of pregnant women would be the most impactful interventions to reduce the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B in the population.</p><p>An analysis of the impact of childhood vaccination in 98 low- and middle-income countries showed that hepatitis B vaccination will have prevented 38 million (range: 25–52 million) deaths over the lifetime of those born from 2000 to 2030, which was second only to measles vaccine [<span>4</span>]. Yet, despite the availability of safe and effective hepatitis B vaccines since 1982, coverage with timely hepB-BD has been suboptimal in most regions (Figure 1). By 2023, 140 of 195 (72%) countries have introduced either universal or selective HepB-BD, with 115 (59%) countries providing HepB-BD to all newborns [<span>5</span>]. In 2022, almost 5.6 million children aged ≤5 years were living with HBV infection [<span>6</span>]. In the World Health Organization (WHO) African region where the burden of HBV infection in children is the highest, only 16 of 47 (34%) countries have introduced HepB-BD mainly due to lack of financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance [<span>7</span>]. In 2020, Gavi approved funding for HepB-BD introduction; however, this was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2024, Gavi launched official funding support for eligible countries for HepB-BD introduction [<span>8</span>]. Countries must now take urgent action to introduce HepB-BD, including submitting applications for Gavi fund","PeriodicalId":201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the International AIDS Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11272954/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141756044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}