Objectives: To investigate the Seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen in pregnant women and managing chronic HBV infection in pregnant women for preventing mother to child transmission. Methods: Fifteen thousand pregnant women were evaluated using history, examination and test for serum HbsAg and who were found to be HbsAg positive underwent liver function tests, HbeAg and HBV DNA analysis by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Results: out of fifteen thousand (15000) women, 52 women tested positive for HbsAg. Of these, 8(15.38%) presented with acute hepatitis and 44(84.6%) were asymptomatic carriers. The highest HbsAg positivity was seen in age group of 20-25 years and maximum women were multiparous (67.23%). Assessment of risk factors revealed history of tattooing in 22 women (42.3%). Out of 52 women, 12 patients tested positive for HbeAg and their DNA tires were more than one Lakh copies/ml. Forty six women(88.4%) delivered vaginally and rest 6(11.5%) underwent cesarean section which was mainly done for obstetric indications. All the babies born received immunoglobulin and first dose of HBV vaccine within 12 hours of birth. Conclusion: Seroprevalence of HbsAg in antenatal women was found to be 0.34%.

Introduction: This article aims to discuss all the challenges faced in the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnancy, isolation of suspected and positive patients, their management, and the strategies to prevent the transmission of infection among the healthy population and medical fraternity. The diagnosis of COVID in pregnancy is influenced by many factors, including normal physiological changes in pregnancy, comorbid conditions associated with pregnancy, and the presence of asymptomatic infection in patients. Suspicion of COVID-19 in pregnant females is of utmost importance at a primary health center for risk mitigation of exposure to medical personnel. Material and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out in the labour room in a tertiary care center in India. Two groups were made, suspected COVID and confirmed COVID in pregnant patients. The case records were analysed. Results: Out of a total of 5164 admissions, 95 patients were admitted as suspected (1.8%), but only two patients were COVID-positive amongst them. 84% of COVID-positive patients were asymptomatic. Fever was the most common symptom in both groups ( P -value: 0.15). Preeclampsia and anaemia were the most common comorbidities in both groups, not statistically significant. There were 32% of intensive acre unit (ICU) admissions in suspected COVID patients, and 77% of them were having respiratory distress. Conclusion: COVID-19 presents as an asymptomatic infection in most pregnant patients. Physiological changes to the cardiorespiratory and immune systems along with associated comorbidities in pregnancy, increase a woman’s susceptibility and delay diagnosis. Consideration of patients as suspected COVID at triage stations on the basis of only contact or travel history poses a great burden on the health care system. Although triage is an essential tool to identify symptomatic COVID patients, universal testing strategies should continue simultaneously. Streamlining medical care professionals into self-sufficient teams ensures adequate clinical coverage amongst the suspected COVID, confirmed COVID, and routine labour room admissions.