As required by the D.C. Municipal Regulation 22 B2-207, a provider that attends to, treats or examines a pregnant woman shall perform Hepatitis B surface antigen testing and report positive results to the DC DOH HIV/Aids Hepatitis STD TB Administration (HAHSTA) within 48 hours.  Laboratories can aid this effort by timely processing and reporting.  The goal of the PHBPP is to ensure that all HBsAg-positive pregnant women are identified and their lab results are reported in a timely manner.  To assist in achieving this goal:

• Laboratories are encouraged to report positive maternal HBsAg results to the DOH Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program (PHBPP) case manager directly by way of secure email to [email protected] including obstetrician’s/clinic name and contact information if available.
• Electronic or fax reporting to HAHSTA per established protocols.
• Contact ordering physician’s office with all HBsAg test results even if previously reported for the same client.
• For Hepatitis B antibody reporting, utilize ‘anti-HB’ rather than ‘HBsAb’ as test name to minimize chance of misinterpretation with HBsAg (antigen) testing.
• Include pregnancy status as possible for all positive HBsAg results of women of childbearing age when reporting to providers.

All laboratories that provide HBsAg testing of pregnant women should use an FDA-licensed or approved HBsAg test and should perform testing according to the manufacturer’s labeling, including testing of initially reactive specimens with a licensed neutralizing confirmatory test [MMWR 12/23/05, 54 (RR16); 1-23]. 

Links of Interest

Laboratory Reporting of Pregnancy Status for Hepatitis B Positive Women http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/pregstatuslabreporting.htm

Ordering Prenatal Hepatitis B Screening Test from Major Commercial Laboratories http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/pdfs/prenatalhbsagtesting.pdf

The D.C. Municipal Regulations and D.C. Register  - Communicable and Reportable Diseases http://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/RuleHome.aspx?RuleNumber=22-B201 

Help stop the spread of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) by improving the identification of HBV-infected pregnant women