Hepatitis B elimination in children of Slovenian origin born in Slovenia after the introduction of preventive strategies: The results of a national study

Abstract

In Slovenia national strategies to prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in children were introduced in the mid-nineties. The aim of the present study was to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of chronic hepatitis B infection in children in Slovenia after the introduction of mandatory HBV vaccination of children and mandatory screening of pregnant women for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) with consecutive active and passive immunization of newborns of HBsAg-positive mothers.

Keywords

• chronic hepatitis b
• prevention strategies
• vaccination
• mandatory screening
• hbsag
• pregnant women
• kronični hepatitis b
• preventivni ukrepi
• cepljenje
• obvezno testiranje
• nosečnice