National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) – Hepatitis B and Pregnant Women

During National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM), the Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy (OHAIDP) is highlighting opportunities to improve viral hepatitis prevention efforts through the expanded use of vaccines that protect against viral hepatitis. The second week of NIAM focuses on vaccines and pregnant women.

Hepatitis B infection can be passed from an infected mother to her baby at the time of birth. While recommendations for universal hepatitis B infant vaccination have dramatically reduced the number of new infections in the Unites States, about 1,000 babies are born with hepatitis B each year.  Pregnant women can help protect their infants from hepatitis B, liver cancer, and other related health problems by getting screened for hepatitis B and making sure their babies are vaccinated before leaving the hospital. Hepatitis B infection increases their risk of liver cancer and one in four infants infected with hepatitis B at birth will die prematurely.

The elimination of perinatal hepatitis B transmission is one of the four overarching goals of the Viral Hepatitis Action Plan. In 2015, the OHAIDP convened a consultation focused on this goal designed to share best practices and to identify and better understand the challenges that remain. A report from the Consultation on Perinatal Hepatitis B Elimination is available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommend that all pregnant women routinely receive hepatitis B screening at their first prenatal visit or during the first trimester, even if they were previously vaccinated or tested. This hepatitis B screening is a covered preventive service under many health plans for pregnant women, and requires no copay for most insured patients. Women who test positive for hepatitis B surface antigen during pregnancy should be referred to the Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program for case management to help minimize the risk of perinatal transmission. These women should also seek care and be considered for treatment for their own hepatitis B infection. In 2015, experts released recommendations that some pregnant women with hepatitis B infection should receive antiviral treatment to further reduce the risk of transmission to their infants.

Pregnant women who do not test positive for hepatitis B, but are at risk for hepatitis B infection (e.g., having more than one sex partner during the previous 6 months, been evaluated or treated for an STD, recent or current injection drug use, or having had a hepatitis B-positive sex partner) should receive vaccination. More detailed strategies to prevent hepatitis B infection of infants will be discussed next week 

Learn more about NIAM and perinatal hepatitis B and find vaccines near you:

• Download free NIAM toolkits
• Download this perinatal hepatitis B fact sheet
• Visit the HealthMap Vaccine Finder, a free online tool you can use to i find vaccines at your local pharmacies and clinics nearby.

During National Immunization Awareness Month in August, help spread the word about hepatitis B vaccinations, get vaccinated for hepatitis B if you haven’t before, and encourage others to get vaccinated to protect against hepatitis B infection and liver cancer.