Abstract
Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus have received a significant amount of attention in recent years, and both viruses share a significant amount of similarities with one another beyond just that they both primarily target the liver. In recent years, cases of both infections have been fueled by a nationwide epidemic of injection drug use. Most relevant to this audience, they are both transmitted from mother to child. The increased cases in young adults combined with mother to child transmission translate into more exposed infants that will need to be managed and followed. Screening of pregnant women for hepatitis B infection coupled with appropriate treatment and prophylaxis measures are incredibly effective to preventing transmission. Prevention of hepatitis C infection is not yet possible, but advances in antiviral therapy make interruption of transmission a future possibility.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 185-190 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Seminars in Perinatology |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2018 |
Funding
Dr. Espinosa has no proprietary or commercial interest in any product mentioned or concept discussed in this article. Dr. Jhaveri has received research funding from Gilead, Abbvie, and Merck.
Keywords
- Hepatitis b virus
- Hepatitis c virus
- Mother to child transmission
- Vaccine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
