Abstract
BackgroundIn Italy, HBV vaccination is recommended and offered free of charge through the National Health Service to selected population groups – e.g., family members of an HBsAg carrier, healthcare workers, newborns and those who were 12-years old in 1991. However, a significant proportion of cases of acute hepatitis B still occur in Italy among persons who should have been vaccinated. We analysed HBV sero-prevalence data of two vaccination target populations (people born after 1980 and household contacts of an HBV carrier) living in a southern Italian area in order to evaluate HBV vaccine coverage and its possible determinants.MethodsBetween 2003 and 2006, we carried out a cross-sectional, population-based, sero-epidemiological survey on HBV infection on 4496 randomly selected individuals (aged 20 years or more) from the general population of the province of Naples. Sera were tested for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBsAg) by commercial immunoassays. Prevalence of past or current HBV infection and of HBV vaccination-induced immunity was calculated in two vaccination target populations. To analyze the association of epidemiological and socioeconomic characteristics with HBV vaccination of household contacts, we calculated crude and multiple logistic regression (MLR) odds ratio (OR).ResultsPrevalence of HBV vaccine-induced immunity (anti-HBs alone) was much lower among household contacts (25%) than among those who had been targeted for universal adolescent vaccination (81.6%). Male sex, older age, unemployment and lower education levels were associated to lower immunization rates.ConclusionUnderstanding the different uptake of hepatitis B vaccination in these populations may provide useful information for optimizing vaccination campaigns in other contexts. Our data clearly demonstrated the need of improving the uptake of vaccination for household contacts of HBV carriers.
Highlights
In Italy, HBV vaccination is recommended and offered free of charge through the National Health Service to selected population groups – e.g., family members of an hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carrier, healthcare workers, newborns and those who were 12-years old in 1991
The survey was conducted in the province of Naples, an area of southern Italy with the highest incidence rates of liver cancer in Europe and where about 90% of liver cancers are attributable to infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and/or HBV [3]
Statistical analysis Prevalence of past or current HBV infection and of HBV vaccination-induced immunity was calculated in two vaccination target populations i.e. persons born ≥ 1980 and household contacts of an HBV carrier
Summary
In Italy, HBV vaccination is recommended and offered free of charge through the National Health Service to selected population groups – e.g., family members of an HBsAg carrier, healthcare workers, newborns and those who were 12-years old in 1991. In Italy, since 1984 HBV vaccination has been recommended and offered free of charge by the National Health Service to high-risk groups – e.g., family members of HBsAg carriers, healthcare workers. To provide further insight into missed opportunities for HBV prevention in Italy, we analyzed HBV sero-prevalence data of two target populations for HBV vaccination, i.e., people born after 1980 and household contacts of an HBV carrier, collected in a population-based survey on viral hepatitis infections [2]. The survey was conducted in the province of Naples, an area of southern Italy with the highest incidence rates of liver cancer in Europe and where about 90% of liver cancers are attributable to infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and/or HBV [3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
