Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.

BACKGROUND: Many clinicians do not encourage breastfeeding in hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers, since HBV DNA can be detected in breast milk and breast lesions may increase exposure of infants to HBV. The aim of this study was to determine whether breastfeeding may add risk for perinatal HBV transmi...

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Main Authors: Xiangru Chen, Jie Chen, Jian Wen, Chenyu Xu, Shu Zhang, Yi-Hua Zhou, Yali Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3557270?pdf=render
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author Xiangru Chen
Jie Chen
Jian Wen
Chenyu Xu
Shu Zhang
Yi-Hua Zhou
Yali Hu
author_facet Xiangru Chen
Jie Chen
Jian Wen
Chenyu Xu
Shu Zhang
Yi-Hua Zhou
Yali Hu
author_sort Xiangru Chen
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND: Many clinicians do not encourage breastfeeding in hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers, since HBV DNA can be detected in breast milk and breast lesions may increase exposure of infants to HBV. The aim of this study was to determine whether breastfeeding may add risk for perinatal HBV transmission. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Totally 546 children (1-7-year-old) of 544 HBV-infected mothers were investigated, with 397 breastfed and 149 formula-fed; 137 were born to HBeAg-positive mothers. All children had been vaccinated against hepatitis B but only 53.3% received hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG). The overall prevalence of HBsAg+, HBsAg-/anti-HBc+, and anti-HBs (≥10 mIU/ml) in children was 2.4%, 3.1%, and 71.6% respectively. The HBsAg prevalence in breast- and formula-fed children was 1.5% and 4.7% respectively (P = 0.063); the difference was likely due to the higher mothers' HBeAg-positive rate in formula-fed group (formula-fed 49.0% vs. breastfed 15.9%, P<0.001). Further logistic regression analyses showed that breastfeeding was not associated with the HBV infection in the children, adjusting for the effect of maternal HBeAg status and other factors different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Under the recommended prophylaxis, breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of HBV. Therefore, clinicians should encourage HBV-infected mothers to breastfeed their infants.
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spelling doaj.art-7e3d6efaca7742258a60d5ee67787b702022-12-22T02:36:00ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0181e5530310.1371/journal.pone.0055303Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.Xiangru ChenJie ChenJian WenChenyu XuShu ZhangYi-Hua ZhouYali HuBACKGROUND: Many clinicians do not encourage breastfeeding in hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers, since HBV DNA can be detected in breast milk and breast lesions may increase exposure of infants to HBV. The aim of this study was to determine whether breastfeeding may add risk for perinatal HBV transmission. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Totally 546 children (1-7-year-old) of 544 HBV-infected mothers were investigated, with 397 breastfed and 149 formula-fed; 137 were born to HBeAg-positive mothers. All children had been vaccinated against hepatitis B but only 53.3% received hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG). The overall prevalence of HBsAg+, HBsAg-/anti-HBc+, and anti-HBs (≥10 mIU/ml) in children was 2.4%, 3.1%, and 71.6% respectively. The HBsAg prevalence in breast- and formula-fed children was 1.5% and 4.7% respectively (P = 0.063); the difference was likely due to the higher mothers' HBeAg-positive rate in formula-fed group (formula-fed 49.0% vs. breastfed 15.9%, P<0.001). Further logistic regression analyses showed that breastfeeding was not associated with the HBV infection in the children, adjusting for the effect of maternal HBeAg status and other factors different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Under the recommended prophylaxis, breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of HBV. Therefore, clinicians should encourage HBV-infected mothers to breastfeed their infants.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3557270?pdf=render
spellingShingle Xiangru Chen
Jie Chen
Jian Wen
Chenyu Xu
Shu Zhang
Yi-Hua Zhou
Yali Hu
Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.
PLoS ONE
title Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.
title_full Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.
title_fullStr Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.
title_full_unstemmed Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.
title_short Breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.
title_sort breastfeeding is not a risk factor for mother to child transmission of hepatitis b virus
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3557270?pdf=render
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