Low seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antibody among nursing students in Taiwan: An implication for boosting

Background: Viral hepatitis infections are major health problems, which are especially prevalent in developing countries. In particular, health care workers are at high risk for contracting viral hepatitis. Therefore, preventive measures to minimize occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens are needed to protect both health care workers and nursing students. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C infections and risk factors among nursing students. Methods: Venous bloods were obtained from nursing students and were serologically tested using the ELISA method. A questionnaire form was also used to obtain data related to demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the participants. Results: 0.7% of the nursing students were serologically positive for HBsAg, 17.0% for Anti-HBs and 7.5% were positive for Anti-HBc (IgG). No statistical relationship was determined between all independent variables and the results of serologic tests.

show abstract

“…2005). Similar to these findings, Lin et al. (2007) in Taiwan found HBsAg prevalence at a ratio of 2.1% among nursing students.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have shown that medical (Öncü et al. 2005) and nursing students (Lin et al. 2007; Talas 2009) need to be vaccinated against hepatitis B and to implement universal precautions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hepatitis B and C seropositivity among nursing students at a Turkish university

Irmak

Ekinci

Akgül³

2010

International Nursing Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…10,42 42 A survey in 2000-2006 on first year nursing students found that while HBsAg positivity decreased from 4.9% in 2000 to 2.1% in 2006, anti-HBs also decreased from 77.1% to 39.7%, while both tests being negative increased from 18.0% to 58.2%. 43 In Hong Kong, 80.2% of 212 university entrants aged 17-23 years who had received neonatal vaccination were both HBsAg and anti-HBs negative, and HBsAg was found in only 0.9%. 44 The findings of these studies indicated that decreased HBsAg carriage can be associated simultaneously with decreased seroprotection, so that the former should not be taken as evidence of adequate seroprotection among the population.…”

Section: Waning Of Anti-hbs Titer With Advancing Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Immune persistence after hepatitis B vaccination in infancy – Fact or fancy?

Lao

2016

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The hepatitis B vaccine has been introduced for more than 3 decades. In Hong Kong, excellent vaccine coverage through an efficient public health care system, together with supplemental programmes and easy availability of the vaccine, meant that most young pregnant women, and university students at entrance, should have been protected. Yet significant correlations in the prevalence of HBV infection with age were found in these groups of subjects, increasing from low to high endemicity rates from late teenage to the early twenties. This can only be attributed to vaccine failure, and there is cumulating evidence that several factors are involved, including the failure to respond to a primary series of hepatitis B vaccination in infancy, the waning of antibody titer with age, and loss of anamnestic response in a significant portion of the vaccinees. The duration of protection conferred by hepatitis B vaccination in infancy should be re-examined and remedial measures undertaken if its long term protection is found to be insufficient. Otherwise, the efforts to control HBV infection, especially in high endemicity regions, with universal vaccination in infancy would be rendered futile.

show abstract

“…17 Another survey on first year nursing students found that while HBsAg positivity decreased from 4.9% in 2000 to 2.1% in 2006, anti-HBs also decreased from 77.1% to 39.7%, but both tests being negative increased from 18.0% to 58.2%. 18 In Hong Kong, 80.2% of 212 university entrants aged 17-23 y who had received neonatal vaccination were both HBsAg and antiHBs negative, and although HBsAg was found in only 0.9%, a weak or absent anamnestic response was found in 43%. 19 The critical issue about universal HBV vaccination is not whether it is effective in protecting children from HBV infection, but whether its protection can endure into adulthood, even if not lifelong.…”

Section: Sirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term persistence of immunity after hepatitis B vaccination: Is this substantiated by the literature?

Lao

2017

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hepatitis B vaccination is held to provide life-long protection against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but evidence for this notion remains wanting, since no studies have assessed the vaccinees in their fourth decade of life. Indeed, there are several reports indicating that despite vaccination in infancy, the prevalence of HBV infection still increased with age in the vaccinees, and that both anti-HBs titer and anamnestic response declined with age. Clearly it is time to clarify the long-term protection conferred by vaccination in infancy, and to implement remedial measures such as booster doses of vaccine in subjects without immunoprotection.

show abstract

Low seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antibody among nursing students in Taiwan: An implication for boosting

Cited by 13 publications

References 27 publications

Hepatitis B and C seropositivity among nursing students at a Turkish university

Hepatitis B and C seropositivity among nursing students at a Turkish university

Immune persistence after hepatitis B vaccination in infancy – Fact or fancy?

Long-term persistence of immunity after hepatitis B vaccination: Is this substantiated by the literature?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About