It is the mission of the District of Columbia Department of Health (DC Health) to identify Hepatitis B surface antigen-positive pregnant women or infants at delivery and to work with care providers to administer appropriate treatment to prevent the spread of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV).
Recommendations from the Center of Disease Control for perinatal Hepatitis B prevention include:
- Testing and identification of HBsAg+ women early in pregnancy or their infants at delivery and reporting all cases in your practice (regardless of where they reside) to your state Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program (PHBPP) https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hepb/hcp/perinatal-contacts.html.
- Universal birth dose administration of the Hepatitis B vaccine to all infants.
- Administration of Hepatitis B vaccine and Hepatitis B Immune Globulin (HBIG) within 12 hours of birth to infants born of mothers who are HBsAg+ , those mothers of unknown status, or mothers with a past history of Hepatitis B in previous pregnancies but who may currently test negative.
- Vaccination of infants born to HBsAg+ mothers with Hepatitis B vaccine on schedule (birth, 1-2 months, and 6 months).
- Post vaccine serology testing should be done at 1 – 2 months after the third Hepatitis B vaccine and at least 9 months of age. Testing should include Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and Hepatitis B quantitative antibody (anti-HB or HBsAb).
Click here to refer each perinatal case (prenatal or up to 24 months post-delivery) to the Perinatal Hepatitis B Nurse Case Coordinator Donna Sheler, RN.