Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2005; 11(3): 418-420
Published online Jan 21, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i3.418
Horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus in children with chronic hepatitis B
Tumay Doganci, Gulnar Uysal, Tayfun Kir, Arzu Bakirtas, Necdet Kuyucu, Levent Doganci
Tumay Doganci, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, SSK Ankara Children’s Hospital, 06018 Ankara, Turkey
Gulnar Uysal, Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, SSK Ankara Children’s Hospital, 06018 Ankara, Turkey
Tayfun Kir, Department of Public Health, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, 06018 Ankara, Turkey
Arzu Bakirtas, Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Sami Ulus Children’s Hospital, 06018 Ankara, Turkey
Necdet Kuyucu, Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Dr. Sami Ulus Children’s Hospital, 06018 Ankara, Turkey
Levent Doganci, Clinical Microbiology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, 06018 Ankara, Turkey
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Levent Doganci, GATA Klinik Mikrobiyoloji 06018 Ankara, Turkey. levdog@gata.edu.tr
Telephone: +90-312-3043401 Fax: +90-312-3043402
Received: February 7, 2004
Revised: February 10, 2004
Accepted: May 13, 2004
Published online: January 21, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To determine the possible routes of intrafamilial transmission pattern in pediatric cases of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

METHODS: In this descriptive retrospective study, 302 children with chronic HBV infection from 251 families and their parents attending the Social Security Children’s Hospital and Doctor Sami Ulus Children’s Hopsital in Ankara between December 1998 and May 2000, were enrolled in. Screenings and diagnosis of chronic HBV infections were established according to the Consensus 2000.

RESULTS: In the studied 302 children with chronic HBV infection, mothers of 38% and fathers of 23% were HBsAg positive. The HBsAg positivity in at least two siblings of the same family was 61% when both parents were HBsAg positive.

CONCLUSION: It is well known that horizontal transmission is quite common in countries where Hepatitis B Virus is moderately endemic. To our best knowledge, this is the largest series observed regarding the horizontal transmission in pediatric chronic HBV infection in Turkey. It is necessary to expand the preventive programs to target not only the newborn period but also all stages of childhood.

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis B; Horizontal transmission