Progress Toward Hepatitis B Control and Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus - World Health Organization African Region, 2016-2021.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: U.S. Centers for Disease Control Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7802429 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1545-861X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01492195 NLM ISO Abbreviation: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Atlanta, GA : U.S. Centers for Disease Control
      Original Publication: [Atlanta] U. S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control.
    • Subject Terms:
      Hepatitis B, Chronic*/epidemiology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic*/prevention & control ; COVID-19*/epidemiology ; Hepatitis B*/epidemiology ; Hepatitis B*/prevention & control; Infant ; Humans ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical/prevention & control ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Pandemics ; Hepatitis B Vaccines ; World Health Organization
    • Abstract:
      Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the leading causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer. In 2019, approximately 1.5 million persons newly acquired chronic HBV infection; among these, 990,000 (66%) were in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region (AFR). Most chronic HBV infections are acquired through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) or during early childhood, and approximately two thirds of these infections occur in AFR. In 2016, the World Health Assembly endorsed the goal of elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HBV, documented by ≥90% coverage with both a timely hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) birth dose (HepB-BD) and 3 infant doses of HepB (HepB3), and ≤0.1% hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroprevalence among children aged ≤5 years. In 2016, the WHO African Regional Committee endorsed targets for a 30% reduction in incidence (≤2% HBsAg seroprevalence in children aged ≤5 years) and ≥90% HepB3 coverage by 2020. By 2021, all 47 countries in the region provided HepB3 to infants beginning at age 6 weeks, and 14 countries (30%) provided HepB-BD. By December 2021, 16 (34%) countries achieved ≥90% HepB3 coverage, and only two (4%) achieved ≥90% timely HepB-BD coverage. Eight countries (17%) conducted nationwide serosurveys among children born after the introduction of HepB to assess HBsAg seroprevalence: six countries had achieved ≤2% seroprevalence, but none had achieved ≤0.1% seroprevalence among children. The development of immunization recovery plans following the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to accelerate progress toward hepatitis B control and EMTCT, including introducing HepB-BD and increasing coverage with timely HepB-BD and HepB3 vaccination. Representative HBsAg serosurveys among children and a regional verification body for EMTCT of HBV will be needed to monitor progress.
      Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
    • References:
      Vaccine. 2017 Jul 24;35(33):4094-4098. (PMID: 28668571)
      Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017 Dec;2(12):900-909. (PMID: 29132759)
      Nat Commun. 2021 Oct 28;12(1):6223. (PMID: 34711822)
    • Accession Number:
      67880-30-2 (gamma-hydroxy-gamma-ethyl-gamma-phenylbutyramide)
      0 (Hepatitis B Surface Antigens)
      0 (Hepatitis B Vaccines)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20230720 Date Completed: 20231023 Latest Revision: 20240509
    • Publication Date:
      20240509
    • Accession Number:
      PMC10360654
    • Accession Number:
      10.15585/mmwr.mm7229a2
    • Accession Number:
      37471264