Background: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide public health problem. In Nepal, the prevalence of\nHBV is found to be low (0.9%), although high prevalence (ââ?°Â¥8%) of HBV infection is depicted among subgroup/\npopulation in the mountain region by various studies. This study assessed the prevalence and the risk of HBV infection\namong mothers, as well as among the youngest child under 5 years old living with hepatitis B positive mothers\nin Dolpa, the most remote mountain district of Nepal.\nMethods: The cross sectional study survey was conducted between June and July 2014. All mothers with their\nyoungest child under 5 years old were invited to participate in the survey and tested for hepatitis B surface antigen\n(HBsAg). The HBsAg positive mothers were further tested by 5-panel HBV test card. Children living with HBsAg positive\nmothers were also tested for HBsAg.\nResults: One hundred fifty-one mothers, comprising 37% of the total study population in the selected Village\nDevelopment Committees (VDCs), were surveyed in the mobile health camps. The seroprevalence of HBsAg\namong mothers and their youngest child under 5 years old living with HBsAg positive mothers were 17% (95% CI,\n11.01ââ?¬â??22.99%) and 48% (95%CI, 28.42ââ?¬â??67.58%) respectively.\nThe majority of HBV infected mothers were indigenous (84%) followed by Dalit (4%) and other castes (12%). Among\nHBV infected mothers, 40% were hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) positive. The prevalence of HBsAg was higher\namong children living with HBeAg positive mothers as compared to HBeAg negative (60% vs 40%) and male children\ncompared to female (60% vs 33%). Thirty-six percent of children were vaccinated with a full course of the hepatitis B\nvaccine. Of these vaccinated children, 56% were HBsAg sero-positive.\nConclusions: The HBV infection rate is high among mothers and children living with HBsAg positive mothers in the\nindigenous population of the most remote mountain community of Nepal.
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