Immune Response to Hepatitis B Vaccine in Health Care Workers in Tertiary Care Hospital in South India

Hepatitis B is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world. Health care workers (HCWs) are at high risk of contracting Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. HBV vaccination followed by confirmation of vaccine response aids to reduce the risk of attaining the Hepatitis B infection and decreasing the chances of the spread of the infection from Health care workers into the society.

The aim of the study is to evaluate hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunization status and anti-HBs titre among HCWs.

This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Hyderabad. 200 Health care workers from different sections who were completely vaccinated with HBV vaccine were included in the study. With due consent, blood samples were collected and tested for antibody to Hepatitis B surface antigen by Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay from May 2014 to June 2014. Titre ≥10 mIU/mL was considered to be seroprotective.

Statistical analysis of data was done in SPSS version 23 and p-value of <0.01 was considered statistically highly significant.

Among 200 HCWs included in the study, 167 (83.5%) were identified as responders to the HBV vaccine and 33 (16.5%) were non-responders. The anti-HBs titres were found to decline with increasing age due to waning immunity. Other risk factors found to be associated with low anti-HBs titres were sex, time since last dose of vaccine and poor life style habits.

All HCWs should receive three doses of the vaccine and be monitored for their immune status 6–8 weeks post vaccination and after every five years. Boosters should be administered to those who lack protective level of anti-HBs antibody.