Hepatitis B maternal-fetal transmission in Southern Europe

Screening of pregnant women for hepatitis B surface antigen especially in c ountries with a high carrier rate as in Southern Europe is absolutely neces sary for the control and elimination of the disease. In most Southern Europ ean countries screening of pregnant women is highly recommended. In Greece the carrier rate in pregnant women varies between 2.8 and 3.0%. However, on ly 63.1% of mothers at delivery had been screened before admission to the m aternity hospital. To avoid legal problems arising from obligatory screenin g, educational campaigns, lectures, pamphlets and further measures to incre ase screening of pregnant women and administering hepatitis B immunoglobuli n and vaccine should be taken.