When hepatitis B is detected in a mother-to-be, her need for antiviral treatment is evaluated. Testing for hepatitis B is recommended as part of the prenatal care package for all pregnant women. Peru's experience is a good practice that we can share with other countries in the Region and the worldīenites emphasizes that the most important strategy is universal vaccination against hepatitis B, especially for newborns during the first 24 hours of life. Peru has has worked to strengthen its health information system and to identify the best strategies to address the problem. "During 2014, 26 newborns exposed to hepatitis B were reported and received vaccine and immunoglobulin, and not one has tested positive for the disease," he said.Īccording to Benites, the national plan seeks to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of the disease over the next five years through targeted intervention focused on areas with the highest number of reported cases. To ensure further progress toward the elimination of hepatitis B, Peru's Ministry of Health has stepped up vaccination campaigns and diagnostic testing.Ĭarlos Benites Villafane, coordinator of the National Strategy for Prevention and Control of STIs, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B in the Ministry of Health, says the most important preventive measures after newborn vaccination are regular check-ups of pregnant women and monitoring of newborns after birth. Indigenous people living in the Amazon are particularly vulnerable to hepatitis B due to geographical and cultural barriers that decrease their access to health care and preventive interventions. The largest concentration of cases in Peru are found in areas along the eastern slope of the Andes (Ayacucho) and in the Amazon Basin (Loreto). In 2014, more than 100,000 people were tested for the disease, of whom 468 were diagnosed with chronic infection. In this Andean country, reporting of hepatitis B cases is mandatory and prevention is based on universal vaccination, which can prevent infection in 95 % of cases. As a result, Liam has so far tested negative for the disease. Liam Sebastian, Yenny's son-now 15 months old-received hepatitis B vaccine after birth as well as immunoglobulin, which is recommended in cases where the mother tests positive. An estimated 2.8 million people in the Region of the Americas are living with hepatitis B. Between 5% and 10% of infected people develop a chronic form of the disease, and after a number of years develop complications such as cirrhosis or liver cancer. Hepatitis B can be transmitted sexually and from mother to child during birth. Hepatitis B is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus that is transmitted through contact with infected blood or other body fluids. But she followed all her doctor's recommendations to the letter. Her biggest concern, however, was the possibility of transmitting the disease to her baby. "When I found out, I felt terrible because I thought it was a fatal disease," she recalls. Yenny Antonio Leon is a 25-year-old mother from Huanta, Ayacucho, Peru, who was diagnosed with hepatitis B before having her baby. The country's hepatitis B elimination strategy includes testing and treatment for pregnant women and vaccination of newborns within the first 24 hours.
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