Familial perinatal exposure to viral hepatitis B: A series of clinical cases

The development of chronic hepatitis B in children may be the result of vertical transmission of the virus during pregnancy. The article presents a series of three different outcomes of perinatal HBV infection exposure in children born to a woman with chronic hepatitis. The development of chronic disease in children resulted from the pregnancy of a woman with a high viral load ( 109 IU/mL) and the presence of HBsAg and HBeAg. In addition, the guidelines for the active and passive hepatitis B prophylaxis in newborns from pregnancy I and II were not thoroughly followed. Administered antiviral therapy with tenofovir during pregnancy III reduced the viral load in the mother; specific immunotherapy and vaccine prophylaxis on Day 1 of life reduced the risk of hepatitis B in the third child. The presented clinical cases demonstrate the need for careful monitoring of women with HBV infection during pregnancy and timely preventive measures for the newborn. The observation approach used can reduce the risk of HBV infection.