[Transmission of hepatitis B virus from mother to child in Bamako-Mali]. / Transmission du virus B de l'hépatite de la mère a l'enfant a Bamako au Mali.

ABSTRACT

Results of a study about mother-infant transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) confirm the high degree of positivity of HBV markers in Bamako, Republic of Mali. Among 372 sera of mother-newborn pairs, seroprevalence of HBs Ag has been around 11% in mothers. The lack of anti HBc IgM in all sera agree probably with a relative old contamination. Pre-S2 epitope marker has been found in more than 70% of HBs Ag positive mothers and 50% of their children. Large discordance has been noted between the prevalence rate of this marker and the HBe Ag and viral DNA, other markers of HBV replication. Further studies are necessary for the clear understanding of HBV transmission systems in our country.