Table 5.

Association of maternal HBV markers (total-HBc, HBsAg, HBeAg, HBV DNA levels) with HBsAg positivity in the 4–30-month-olds—Sierra Leone, 2018.

Maternal HBV Marker	No. of mothers (N = 336)	No. of HBsAg+ 4–30-month olds (N = 10)	OR	95% CI	P value (Wald)
Total anti-HBc
Negative	62	1	Ref
Positive	274	9	1·4	0·5 – 4·1	0·494
HBsAg
Negative	197	2	Ref
Positive	139	8	2·4	1·1 – 5·3	0·026
HBeAg	(N = 335)
Negative	322	3	Ref
Positive	13	7	11·1	5·1 – 24·5	<0·001
HBV DNA levels* (IU/mL)
<200,000	321	3	Ref
≥200,000	12	7	12·2	5·5 – 27·4	<0·001

HBV – hepatitis B virus, HBsAg – hepatitis B surface antigen, No. – number, HBsAg+ – hepatitis B surface antigen positive, OR – odds ratio, 95% CI – 95% confidence interval, total anti-HBc – total antibodies to hepatitis B virus core antigen, HBeAg – hepatitis B virus e antigen, IU/mL – International Units per milliliter, Ref – reference. After being tested by the Alere Detrmine^™ HBsAg rapid test, 137 HBsAg-positive and 200 HBsAg-negative mothers consented to provide blood samples which were then tested for anti-HBc, HBsAg, HBeAg, and HBV DNA on commercially available assays in the laboratory. HBsAg confirmatory testing identified 139 mothers of those who provided serum to be HBsAg-positive. Results presented include mother–child pairs where both have valid test results.

^*Limit of detection is 250 IU/ml and the limit of quantification is 316 IU/ml.