Babies of Hep B Positive Mothers Still Getting Hep B Despite Vaccination

About 10 percent of babies born to mothers with the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) will become HB carriers, even with vaccination, a pediatrician said Saturday.

Since the HB vaccine does not guarantee full protection against infection, it is important to keep track of high risk children, said Chen Hui-ling, a pediatrician at National Taiwan University Hospital.

Citing a study of some 2,000 some children, Chen said that infants born to HBeAg mothers have a higher chance of becoming carriers, even if a rigorous vaccination scheme is implemented 24 hours after birth.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel, 21st July 2012.