Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health problem in Burkina Faso. To control and prevent HBV infection, Hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in the national expanded program in 2006. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of HBsAg in children aged under 10 years after one decade of universal hepatitis B vaccination, and the immune response among these children. Between May and October 2015, a cross-sectional study was conducted among children in two primary healthcare centers in the western region of Burkina Faso. Participants were enrolled in Accart-Ville Healthcare Center in Bobo-Dioulasso (urban area) and the Healthcare Center of the village of Djigouera (rural area). Blood samples were collected from all children and analysed for the presence of HBsAg and anti-HBs antibodies (Abs). For HBsAg positive children, blood samples were also taken among their mothers for screening for HBsAg. A total of 265 children were included in this study. The mean age was 4.4 years. HBsAg was found in 3.4% (9/265) of children. Of the 9 HBsAg positive children, 5 had HBsAg positive mothers. From the 265 children tested for quantification of anti-HBs Ab titer, 219 (82.6%) were fully vaccinated and 135 (61.6%) of them had an anti-HBs ≥ 10 mIU/mL. Despite a good vaccination coverage (82.6%), a considerable proportion of vaccinated children remains unprotected from HBV infection. That emphasizes the need for further strengthening of the vaccination program through implementing the birth dose of HBV vaccine as recommended by WHO.
Highlights
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health problem in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is an endemic area for HBV infection with an at least 10% prevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers [6,7,8]
Of the 9 children who were tested HBsAg positive, 5 had mothers who were positive for HBsAg
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health problem in Burkina Faso. To control and prevent HBV infection, Hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in the national expanded program in 2006. We evaluated the prevalence of HBsAg in children aged under 10 years after one decade of universal hepatitis B vaccination, and the immune response among these children. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global health problem with 240 million chronic carriers and 780 000 deaths each year [1]. The burden of the disease is highest in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia, where more than 8% of the adult population are chronically infected [1,2] In these areas, the most common routes of HBV infection are perinatal transmission from mother to child at birth and horizontal transmission from close contacts during early childhood [3,4]. To control and prevent HBV infection, active immunization with hepatitis B vaccine remains the most effective measure. Only one study assessed the effectiveness of Hepatitis B
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