[The prevalence of viral hepatitis B in pregnant women in an area of southern Romania].

In Romania, the acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are considered to be a public health problem. One of the most effective routes of transmission is from infected mothers to newborns both perinatal and in early childhood. That for, this study objective was to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B în pregnant women. We used the cluster sampling method with a sample size of 1356 pregnant women. Finally our study was based on 1298 blood samples coming from 19 clusters (obstetrics wards/hospitals) selected from those 108 obstetrics wards/hospitals in the south of Romania. Overall, 31.8% (95% C.I. 27.3%-36.4%) of pregnant women admitted for birth in southern Romania had the evidence of past or current HBV infection (anti HBc, AgHBs). In a study done in 1990, Bradley A. Woodruff et al. has reported a prevalence of past or current HBV infection of 36.7% among pregnant women in northeastern Romania.