determination of hepatitis b surface antibody titer in vaccinated children with major thalassemia in kerman-iran

background: thalassemia patients are more susceptible to hepatitis than the normal population due to the frequent blood transfusions. objective: to determine the immune response of children with major ß-thalassemia, by measuring anti-hepatitis b surface antibody (anti-hbs ab) following the last hbv vaccine injection. methods: this study was carried out on 215 thalassemic children who received three standard intramuscular recombinant hbv vaccines. children age ranged between 1-4.5 with a mean age of 3.37 years. based on the time lapsed since last vaccine injection, the subjects were divided into three groups; 0-15 months, 15-30 months and 30-45 months, respectively. based on the serum levels of anti-hbs antibody, subjects were categorized as: good responders (anti-hbs >100 iu/lit), low responders (anti-hbs 10-100 iu/lit) and non-responders (anti-hbs