Rate of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Pregnant Women Determined by a Monoclonal Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Immunoassay

The rate of HBsAg in 6,976 B-human chorionic gonadotropin (B-hCG)-positive specimens, as determined by the Auszyme Monoclonal assay (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.), was 0.56% (39 of 6,986 repeatedly reactive [RR] and confirmed-positive specimens). All RR and confirmed specimens were hepatitis B virus positive by at least one additional test, yielding an assay specificity of 99.96%. The findings argue against unique attributes in the pregnant population that might produce inaccurate assay results.