Abstract
Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains an important health issue with an estimated 2 billion people worldwide infected with HBV. The risk of contracting HBV by health-care workers (HCWs) is four times greater than that of the general adult population. Protection is defined as immunoglobulin G anti-hepatitis B virus surface antigen antibodies (IgG anti-HBsAbs) level ≥10 mIU/mL following a successful vaccination course. Methods: Three hundred and seventeen clinicians participated in the present study. Vaccination history for hepatitis B was obtained. The concentration of IgG anti-HBsAbs in the serum was determined by quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Two hundred and twenty nine participants (72.2%) had already received a complete course of HBV vaccination, 78 participants (24.6%) had received incomplete course and 10 participants (3%) were non-vaccinated. Among the clinicians having a complete history of vaccination, 86% had protective immunity; while of the 71.7% participants who had incomplete vaccination had protective immunity. We found that four clinicians (1.2%) could not attain protective anti-HBsAb level ≥10 mIU/ml, were designated as non-responders after second vaccine series. Conclusions: Even with full vaccination some of the clinicians have not achieved protective IgG anti-HBsAb titres. Hence, it is imperative that protective antibody titre ≥10 mIU/mL must be maintained in all HCWs. Non-responders must be identified and should be counselled regarding how to prevent hepatitis B infection.
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