SynthesisThe Lancet. Global health2025
Vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus in the WHO African region: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The Lancet. Global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Factors influencing implementation of point-of-care tests for maternal and newborn screening and diagnosis in low-resource settings: a systematic review.BMC global and public health · 2026Pooled it
- Hepatitis B screening among asylum seekers: a retrospective cohort study in Modena, Northern Italy.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Burden of cancer in Africa, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023.The Lancet. Oncology · 2026Article
- Validation of a Point-Of-Care Ultrasound for Hepatitis Among Front-Line Healthcare Workers Managing Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Zambia.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2026Article
- Hepatitis B Virus Diagnosis Using Dried Blood Spots in the D.R. Congo: Overcoming Misdiagnosis to Achieve 2030 WHO Targets.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Global burden and time trends of vaccine-preventable diseases in children and adolescents.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Spatial variation and determinants of hepatitis B birth dose vaccination in Nigeria: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Awareness is inadequate among high school children about the hepatitis B virus infection in India.Indian journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Global, regional, and national burdens of liver disease due to hepatitis B in women of childbearing age, 1990 to 2021: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study.AJOG global reports · 2026Article
- "When the virus ages with the patient": Disease-specific quality of life in individuals with hepatitis B virus infection in Ghana.The Journal of international medical research · 2026Article
- The effects of spatial structure on a host-parasite model with horizontal and vertical transmission.Theoretical ecology · 2026Article
- Breaking the stigma: the role of family support in hepatitis B management from a public health education perspective.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Prevalence, Molecular Characterization, and Immune Status Response of Hepatitis B Virus Among Healthcare Workers in Yaoundé General Hospital, Cameroon, During May to June 2024: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Hepatitis B (HBsAg) prevalence among obstetric patients in Caluquembe, Angola, 2023-2024.PloS one · 2025Article
- The contribution of PrEP programmes to triple elimination efforts: a cross-sectional study of status and opportunities.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of sexually transmitted infections among adolescent pregnant women at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda.Therapeutic advances in reproductive healthArticle
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22 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMore new infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) occur annually in the WHO African region than in the rest of the world combined. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in pregnant women and vertical transmission events in the region.
methodsIn this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Africa Index Medicus, and Africa Journals Online for publications between Jan 1, 1992, and Jan 7, 2024, with no language restrictions. HBsAg prevalence and vertical transmission (HBsAg positivity in children aged 6-12 months) were estimated with the use of binomial mixed models with logit links, stratified by infant vaccination status. We estimated HBsAg prevalence for subregions of Africa and for the WHO African region by weighting by estimated livebirths for each subregion. We estimated transmission events using WHO and UNICEF vaccine coverage data and UN population estimates.
findingsWe included 113 studies reporting on HBsAg prevalence from 190 983 pregnant women and 11 studies reporting on vertical transmission. HBsAg prevalence in women receiving antenatal care in the WHO African region (based on 2014-23 data) was 6·2% (95% CI 5·3-7·2). No relationship between risk of bias and HBsAg prevalence was observed. In 2022, an estimated 172 000 vertical transmission events (95% CI 82 000-383 000) occurred (0·4% of livebirths), a fall from a peak of 339 000 (149 000-634 000; 1·2% of all livebirths) in 2001. Increasing birth dose vaccination coverage to the WHO target of 90% could reduce vertical transmission by 43·7% (95% CI 11·6-78·0) to 97 000 events per year (95% CI 58 000-160 000). Adding maternal antiviral prophylaxis with 90% coverage could reduce transmission by 86·3% (95% CI 78·4-94·6) to 24 000 events per year (95% CI 14 000-39 000; 0·06% of livebirths) and achieve WHO elimination targets.
interpretationVertical transmission is an important contributor to HBV transmission in the WHO African region. Scaling up of hepatitis B birth dose vaccination and antiviral prophylaxis is urgently needed, which could achieve elimination of vertical transmission.
fundingWellcome Trust.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.