Hepatitis B Vaccination Coverage and Postvaccination Serologic Testing Among Medical Students at a Public University in Brazil

INTRODUCTIONHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the major infectious diseases without seasonal distribution. 1 Medical students are at risk of acquiring HBV infection due to contact with patients' blood or other body fluids in healthcare or laboratory settings. 2 In the state of Maharashtra, 85% of medical students are admitted to the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course from various parts of Maharashtra while 15% are admitted through All-India quota. Hepatitis B vaccine is administered under the routine child immunization programme of many Indian states but vaccination coverage is not uniform nationwide. As a consequence, some medical students are either not vaccinated or incompletely vaccinated against hepatitis B infection. ABSTRACTBackground: Medical students are at risk of acquiring hepatitis B virus infection due to occupational contact with patients' blood or other body fluids. This study was conducted to determine knowledge of hepatitis B virus infection and anti-HBS antibody titer amongst medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on medical students who satisfied the intake criteria and gave written informed consent to participate in the study. After Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, written informed consent was obtained and a structured, pre-validated questionnaire (pre-test) was administered to the participants. After an educational session, an identical questionnaire was administered (post-test). For determining anti-HBs titer (vaccinated participants) and HBsAg (non-vaccinated participants), blood was aseptically collected by cubital venepuncture. HBsAg and anti-HBs antibody levels were determined by immuno-chromatographic assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Results: 140 healthy, HBsAg-negative medical students (79 males; 61 females) participated in the present study. There was increased median correct response in the post-test with increased minimum and first quartile. 91 (65%) who were vaccinated against Hepatitis B were enrolled for anti-HBs titer estimation. There was no significant gender difference in mean antibody titer. 19 (20.9%) had inadequate levels of anti-HBS antibodies. 50% seroconversion was seen after single dose of hepatitis B vaccine. Conclusions: It is essential to delve into the logistic aspects of evaluating all medical students for hepatitis B infection, procuring and offering free vaccination and assessing anti-HBS titer of vaccinated individuals.

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“…5 In an African study 18% were adequately vaccinated against HBV, 30.6% were inadequately vaccinated and 51.4% were not vaccinated.…”

Section: Hepatitis B Vaccination and Anti-hbs Titermentioning

confidence: 97%

A cross-sectional study of post-vaccination anti-HBs titer and knowledge of hepatitis B infection amongst medical students in a metropolitan city

et al. 2016

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“…Outra pesquisa em universidades brasileiras informou ter constatado que alunos do primeiro ano do curso de Medicina tinham menor adesão à vacinação completa e também menor conhecimento sobre sua situação vacinal quando comparados aos alunos dos anos finais (Souza;Teixeira, 2014).…”

Section: Resultsunclassified

Imunização Contra O Vírus Da Hepatite B Em Estudantes Da Área Da Saúde

Abich¹,

Lima²,

Lissarassa³

et al. 2016

Rev. Cont. Saúde

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O vírus da hepatite B (HBV) apresenta alta infecciosidade e estabilidade no meio ambiente e por isso os profissionais e estudantes da área da saúde estão expostos ao alto risco de contaminação através do contato com materiais biológicos. Avacinação é uma forma de proteção à infecção pelo HBV, assim o objetivo deste estudo foi estimar os níveis de anti-HBs de acadêmicos da área da saúde submetidos ao esquema vacinal para imunização contra o vírus HBV. Trata-se de um estudo observacional transversal realizado em acadêmicos de Biomedicina no noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul entre os anos de 2014 e 2015. Os níveis de anti-HBs foram determinados no soro através do método imunoenzimático - ELISA indireto (Bioclin®) e para análise e apresentação dos dados realizou-se estatística descritiva. Foram estudados 118 acadêmicos, com idade média de 20 ±0,4 anos, entre eles 87,3% eram do sexo feminino e 12,7% do sexo masculino. A análise dos níveis de anti-HBs revelou que 14 acadêmicos (11,9%) apresentaram níveis abaixo da faixa de concentração considerada protetora, enquanto, outros 104 acadêmicos (88,1%) foram considerados imunes. A organização curricular do curso certamente contribui positivamente para maiores índices de imunização no grupo estudado. Todavia, percebeu-se que a situação vacinal está sendo negligenciada entre os estudantes. Sugere-se a implantação de um programa para incentivar a vacinação e acompanhamento da titulação dos níveis de anti-HBs entre os acadêmicos da área da saúde.

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“…This negligence toward the vaccination protocol was similar to that reported in other countries such as Yemen (50%), 16 Saudi Arabia (41%), 13 India (44.4%), 14 and Brazil (48.9%). 20 However, the incidence was lower in Nepal, wherein 80.2% of dental students received a complete dose of the HBV vaccine. 21 Discussions over this issue should still be emphasized due to the lack of knowledge on the number of doses of HBV vaccine, which can lead to incomplete vaccination and increase the risk of HBV infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Hepatitis B Immunization Analysis: Tracking of Antibody Levels among Dental Patients

Wakayama

et al. 2019

The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice

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Aim:To verify the immunization status of dental students against HBV using an immunochromatographic rapid test and explore its associated protective and preventive effects against the disease. Material and methods:This transversal epidemiological study was conducted in a public dental school in Brazil. A total of 263 dental students who were at clinical practice were invited to participate in the study. A semi-structured questionnaire that investigated the issues related to the theme was created for data collection. An immunochromatographic test for the detection of anti-Hepatitis B surface antigen was used to verify the immunization status. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).Results: Approximately 59.2% of the participants did not know the etiological agent of hepatitis B infection, and 36.6% did not know the number of doses of hepatitis B vaccines. Furthermore, 53.2% of the participants were immunized against HBV. Logistic regression showed that those who received less than three doses of the vaccine (OR = 2.539) or did not know how many doses they received (OR = 3.022) had higher risks of not developing the immunity. Moreover, age (OR = 0.834) was a protective factor against non-immunization.Conclusion: There was a low prevalence of dental students who were immunized against HBV. The number of vaccine doses received and the participants' age had significant associations with the immunization status. Clinical significance:Deals with an issue of major impact on the public health because of the high rates of hepatitis B in the general population, as well as the lack of knowledge of the subject by a large part of dental surgeons and dental students.

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Hepatitis B Vaccination Coverage and Postvaccination Serologic Testing Among Medical Students at a Public University in Brazil

Cited by 23 publications

References 18 publications

A cross-sectional study of post-vaccination anti-HBs titer and knowledge of hepatitis B infection amongst medical students in a metropolitan city

A cross-sectional study of post-vaccination anti-HBs titer and knowledge of hepatitis B infection amongst medical students in a metropolitan city

Imunização Contra O Vírus Da Hepatite B Em Estudantes Da Área Da Saúde

Hepatitis B Immunization Analysis: Tracking of Antibody Levels among Dental Patients

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