Efficacy of B Hepatitis vaccination in vaccinated population of Tabriz in 1398

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus infection is a major health problem in the world and also is the important cause of chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. It is estimated that approximately 1.3% of the world's population is infected with the hepatitis B virus. Vaccination is the best and most effective way to prevent from this infection but in the cases with incomplete immunization, vaccine cannot achieve to an acceptable level of immunity against the virus, so the desired result will not be achieved and therefore the infection will be transmitted in the community. Due to the observed multiple cases of lack of complete immunity in individuals, following hepatitis B vaccination, we decided to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine in the community for identification and re-vaccination of people with ineffective vaccination. Materials and methods After obtaining the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, in a cross-sectional study during three months from all individuals less than 25 years old that referred to Laboratory of Tabriz Children Medical and Training Center that required blood sampling; during 3 months, a blood sample was taken to measure the hepatitis B antibody titer. Then based on antibody titers, the frequency of immunized and non-immunized cases was reported. The effect of age and sex on the immunization of hepatitis B vaccine was also investigated.

Results 486 patients consisting of 224 females (46.1%) and 262 males (53.9%) participated in this study. Antibody titers were 10 or less than 10, which considered as non-immunized cases, in 167 patients (34.4%) and above 10 in 319 patients (65.6%). This study did not show a significant difference between men and women (p = 0.56), but the median age of people with acceptable immunization was significantly less than those with antibody titers <10 (p <0.001). Age and gender variables did not have a significant effect on the immunization of hepatitis B vaccine, but the presence of underlying disease in patients could be an insufficient safety factor.