پاسخ ایمنی به واکسن هپاتیت B در کارکنان درمانی بیمارستان 17 شهریور آمل در سال 1392

Background and purpose: Vaccination against hepatitis B is one of the most important ways to prevent this viral disease. However, some individuals vaccinated against hepatitis B do not show adequate defense. This study was designed to investigate the immune response towards this disease by assessing the level of hepatitis B antibody in vaccinated health care workers (HCWs) in north of Iran . Material and Methods: This descriptive– cross sectional study was carried out in 2013 in which 117 HCWs of Amol 17 Shahrivar Hospital were studied. Levels of hepatitis B surface antibody were measured in serum samples using ELISA kit. The results were analyzed considering elapsed time of vaccination, and age and gender of the subjects. Results: Among the studied HCWs 79 (67.5%) had complete vaccination while 38 (32.5%) had incomplete vaccination. Immune response was found in safe level in 98 (83.3%) and non-safe in19 (16.2%) (titer below 10mlu/ml). There was a significant correlation between hepatitis B surface antibody levels and elapsed time of vaccination (p0.05). Conclusion: Findings suggest that vaccination against hepatitis B does not guarantee a complete immunity and the level of immunity is very much affected by elapsed time of vaccination. Although women were found with higher antibody titers in this study.