Low hepatitis B vaccine uptake among surgical residents in Cameroon

Abstract

BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most serious occupational hazards faced by healthcare workers. Surgical personnel are particularly at risk. HBV infection is preventable by vaccination, but no previous study has assessed HBV vaccination coverage among healthcare workers in Cameroon. We assessed knowledge of risk factors of HBV infection, awareness of HBV vaccine, and vaccination status of surgical residents in Cameroon.MethodsA structured pretested questionnaire was administered to 49 of the 70 surgical residents in Cameroon during the 2011–2012 academic year.ResultsSince the beginning of their residency program, 28 (57.1%) had had at least one accidental exposure to blood, with a median of 2 (range 1 to 25) exposures. Most of them had a good knowledge of risk factors for HBV infection. Although 98.0% (n = 48) were aware of the HBV vaccine, and 89.8% (n = 44) knew that they were at high risk of infection, only 24.5% (n = 12) had received a full course of at least three doses of the vaccine. In addition, only 33.3% (4/12) underwent post-vaccination testing to confirm a good immunological response (and thus effective protection against HBV infection). Among the 53.1% (n = 28) who had never had any dose of HBV vaccine, the main reasons for not being vaccinated were lack of time (38.5%), lack of money to pay for vaccine (23.1%), and lack of sufficient information on the vaccine (19.2%). Only 20.4% (n = 10) had been sensitized by their training institutions about the importance of HBV vaccination.ConclusionThere is a low HBV vaccine uptake among surgical residents in Cameroon. As part of occupational safety measures, complete HBV vaccination should be strongly recommended and offered to surgical trainees before the beginning of their training program.

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among health care workers in a tertiary hospital in Tanzania

“…Preventive vaccination against hepatitis B for hospital staff is standard in many countries, but is still not implemented in many resources-poor settings [ 10 , 11 ]. There have been reports of weak immune responses to HBV vaccination caused by, for example, diabetes or a current viral infection [ 12 – 14 ].…”

Seroprevalence and Knowledge of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Laboratory Workers at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania

“…In contrast, vaccination coverage of medical students in Cameroon was 18%; however, only 10% of the fully vaccinated students had their antibody levels checked. 20,21 In this study, of the few who had been vaccinated, some did not finish the full vaccine series; and none of the HCWs who did finish the full dosage series, had an antibody titre to confirm immunity, which is recommended by WHO. A study in Karachi reported a high vaccination coverage of 81.8%, 22 however, the study population's level of immunity was not confirmed with an HBsAg titre.…”

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Healthcare professionals' level of medication knowledge in Africa: a systematic review

“…The main finding in these papers was that PEP was underused, and it was speculated that this was partly due to the low level of PEP-related knowledge. Forty-eight questions were about different types of vaccines; 23 on hepatitis B [39][40][41][42][43], eight on human papilloma virus [44][45][46], three on influenza [47,48] viruses, and 14 questions on adverse events following immunization [49]. Questions were about overall awareness of different types of vaccines, and the effectiveness, what comprised a dose/full course, how long the vaccines offered protection, and about the safety of vaccination, adverse reactions after immunization, and medication used to prevent/relieve vaccinationrelated immune reaction.…”