Prevalence of serological markers of hepatitis B virus in pregnant women from Paraná State, Brazil

The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Brazil increases from South to North but moderate to elevated prevalence has been detected in the Southwest of Paraná State. The prevalence of serological markers of HBV was evaluated in 3188 pregnant women from different counties in Paraná State and relevant epidemiological features were described. The prevalence of HBV markers in pregnant women for the state as a whole was 18.5% (95% CI = 17.2-19.9), ranging from 7.2% in Curitiba to 38.5% in Francisco Beltrão. The endemicity of HBV marker prevalence in pregnant women was intermediate in Cascave...