IJSR International Journal of Scientific Research 2277 - 8179 Indian Society for Health and Advanced Research ijsr-8-4-18937 Original Research Paper Seroprevalence of HBsAg among Antenatal Women attending Tertiary Care Hospital, Telangana State Devi B Dr. Santosh Kumar B Dr. April 2019 8 4 01 02 ABSTRACT

Background: Viral hepatitis is a serious public health problem affecting billions of people globally. The maternal to fetal vertical transmission is on the rise and usually goes undetected. The Hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg) in serum is the first seromarker to indicate active HBV infection. Aim: To determine the seroprevalence of HBsAg in healthy asymptomatic antenatal women attending at Government Maternity Hospital, Sultan Bazar Telangana State Methods: All antenatal women attending the hospital outpatient department were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen during May 2016 to April 2018 . A total of 27024 pregnant women were tested .The age group ranged from 18 yr to 35 yrs Results: Present study shows prevalence of HBsAg among antenatal women is approximately 0.5%. It is most common in the age group of 25 to 30 yrs. Conclusion: Screening pregnant women for hepatitis B will reduce prevalence of the disease and the information will help to design program on awareness to prevent mother to child transmission of virus. Hepatitis B vaccination to new born has to be encouraged.