Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program
Last updated 11/24/2025.
In alignment with leading medical, health, and patient advocacy groups, the County of San Diego affirms that vaccines are not linked to autism. We remain committed to ensuring residents continue to have access to safe and effective vaccines that are based on credible, transparent, and science-based evidence.
The County of San Diego Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program
provides case management and support to local mothers and medical
providers with the goal of preventing perinatal, or mother-to-baby,
transmission of hepatitis B virus infection.
Hepatitis B
is a viral liver disease that can be spread via:
- sexual transmission
- injection drug use
- blood borne/body fluid exposures
- mother to baby at birth
Individuals that are diagnosed with hepatitis B may be asymptomatic or can experience symptoms such as fatigue, fever, yellow skin and eyes (jaundice), abdominal pain, and change in color of stool.
When an infant is born to a hepatitis B positive mother, 70-95% of those infants will develop a chronic infection if they do not receive the appropriate vaccines at birth and early childhood. Chronic hepatitis B can cause many health issues including liver cancer, liver failure, and death.
Program Objectives and Services
- Provide case management for hepatitis B positive pregnant women and their infants.
- Educate medical providers, birth hospitals, and hepatitis B infected pregnant women and their close contacts.
- Coordinate with birth hospitals to promote implementation of national perinatal hepatitis B prevention recommendations.
- Screen and vaccinate at-risk close contacts.
- Provide technical assistance, consultation, resources, and coordination of services.
About the Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “funds 64 jurisdictions to identify pregnant persons infected with hepatitis B virus and to manage their infants to improve receipt of post-exposure prophylaxis, hepatitis B vaccine series completion, and post-vaccination serologic testing." For outcome data and additional information, please click here.
The following jurisdictions participate in the program
- All 50 US States
- District of Columbia
- 5 cities - Chicago, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Antonio
- 5 territories - American Samoa, Guam, N. Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
The California Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention Program (CA PHBPP) is managed by CDPH. The program was established in 1991 to provide resources and technical support to local health departments (LHD) for perinatal hepatitis B prevention and to provide surveillance for perinatal hepatitis B cases. In California, all 58 counties and three city public health departments are enrolled in the program.
If you have any questions, please do
not hesitate to contact us at 866-358-2966 and select 'option 5' to
speak to a public health nurse or email us at
PHS-PerinatalHepB.HHSA@sdcounty.ca.gov
Popular Services