Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Infectious Disease Specialist, Medical Sciences College Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran,
2
Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
Abstract
Abstract
Objective and Background: In this paper, hepatitis B virus infection is considered as a serious public health problem worldwide. The prevalence of hepatitis B, caused by HBV infection, in Iran is 1.6% to 6.5%. Among the groups in which the risk of infection is high are those who work in hospitals as physicians as well as dialysis patients. One of the ways to prevent hepatitis B is HBV vaccination that is performed at 3 times (0, 1, and 6 months). In order to evaluate the efficacy of vaccination, determination of Hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) titration was conducted in staffs working at the Valiasr Hospital of Ghaemshahr city, Iran.
Methods: In this study, vaccination program in hospital in priority for the health workers was developed, for this purpose, 210 individuals were recruited from staff of the Valiasr Hospital of Ghaemshahr city, Iran and HBsAb level was checked. Individuals identified as Non-immunized first received HBV vaccine, and were checked for HBsAb level one month later. If they were still non-immunized, the second- and third-time vaccination were conducted. Afterwards, one month after the third-time vaccination, HBsAb level was measured. If this time it was negative, the individual was considered Non-responder. The association of immunization based on the HBsAg levels was evaluated with baseline characteristic of the individuals.
Results: The optimal vaccine program for the efficient health care and patient outcome was proposed. Among the subjects, 20 cases were non-immunized (less than 10 IU/ml). The investigations indicated that 166 individuals (79.8%), 36 cases (17.3%), and 6 subjects (2.9%) were immunized, less-immunized, and non-immunized. There was no association between BMI, smoking, work experience, HBV vaccination numbers, duration since last vaccination, and gender.
Conclusions: To date, the immunization strategy has been implemented with considerable success. The immunization towards HBS vaccination is not dependent on the individual’s status. Moreover, the hospital personnel should be screened for immunization for enhancing the staff health.
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