Serological positive markers of hepatitis B virus in femoral venous blood or umbilical cord blood should not be evidence of in-utero infection among neonates

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem in the world with about 2 billion people who have been infected with HBV [1]. The World Health Organization reported that there are an estimated 240 million chronically infected persons worldwide, particularly in low-and middle-income countries, and an estimated 650,000 people die annually due to the major complications of chronic hepatitis B, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [2]. China is a high prevalence area, with HBsAg seropositivity in the population reported as 9.8 in 1992 and 7.2 % in 2006 [3].