Screening, Vaccination Uptake and Linkage to Care for Hepatitis B Virus among Health Care Workers in Rural Sierra Leone

Abstract

This study reports on the prevalence and risk factors of chronic HBV among health care workers (HCWs) in a rural secondary hospital in Sierra Leone. Additionally, data on the uptake of HBV vaccination among negatively tested HCWs and on the linkage to care among positively tested HCWs are presented. In December 2019, 781 HCWs were invited to a screening and vaccination campaign at Koidu Government Hospital in Kono District. For each HCW, demographic information and data on their HBV risk history were captured, followed by a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test. HCWs with a negative test result were offered an HBV vaccine on the same day, after one and six months. HCWs that were HBsAg positive were linked to a free HBV clinic. In total, 80% (632) of HCWs were screened. Among the screened, 97% had never received an HBV vaccine and 10.3% (n = 65) had chronic HBV. The following characteristics were associated with being HBsAg positive: aged less than 30 years old (aOR 2.17, CI 1.16–4.03, p = 0.01), male gender (aOR 2.0, CI 1.06–3.78, p = 0.03), working experience of 1–4 years (aOR 3.99, CI 1.15–13.73, p = 0.03) and over 9 years (aOR 6.16, CI 1.41–26.9, p = 0.02). For HBsAg-negative HCWs (n = 567), 99.8% (n = 566), 97.5% (n = 553) and 82.7% (n = 469) received their first, second and third dose of the vaccine, respectively. For HBsAg-positive HCWs (n = 65), 73.9% (n = 48) were successfully linked to an HBV clinic for further care. Most HCWs are unvaccinated for HBV, and the HBV prevalence amongst this at-risk group is high. Uptake of vaccination and linkage to care was successful.

Low Uptake of Hepatitis B Vaccination among Healthcare Workers in Primary Health Facilities in Mwanza Region, North-western, Tanzania

“…Residents of Ilemela district showed higher rates of vaccine completion compared to Misungwi HCWs who represent the rural setting of the study. The findings exemplify studies in other regions of Africa where urban residents showed higher HBV vaccine uptake compared to rural residents (20,21). This is because there is limited research as well as supplies in rural settings compared to urban settings, which could be a cause of this compromise.…”

Low uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among healthcare workers in primary health facilities in Mwanza region, North-Western Tanzania

“…Residents of the Ilemela district showed higher rates of vaccine completion compared to HCWs in Misungwi, which represents the rural setting of the study. The findings exemplify studies in other regions of Africa, where urban residents showed higher HBV vaccine uptake compared to rural residents (23,24). This is because there is limited research and supplies in rural settings compared to urban settings, which could be a cause of this compromise.…”

Prevalence of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Sierra Leone, 1997–2022: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Table 1 outlines the characteristics of the 22 studies included in the meta-analysis. 18 – 39 The total sample size from the 22 studies was 107,186. The individual study sample sizes ranged from 142 to 43,163.…”