Epidemiological Impact of Mandatory Vaccination against Hepatitis B in Italian Young Adults

authors:

avatar Marcello Campagna 1 , avatar Andrea Siddu 1 , avatar Angelo Meloni 1 , avatar Claudia Murru 1 , avatar Giuseppina Masia 1 , avatar Rosa Cristina Coppola 2 , *

Department of Public Health, University of Cagliari, Italy
Department of Public Health, University of Cagliari, coppola@Medicina.unica.it, Italy
Hepatitis Monthly: Vol.11, issue 9; 750-752
article type: Brief Report
received: June 1, 2011
accepted: June 28, 2011
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5812/kowsar.1735143X.723

how to cite: Campagna M, Siddu A, Meloni A, Murru C, Masia G, et al. Epidemiological Impact of Mandatory Vaccination against Hepatitis B in Italian Young Adults. Hepat Mon. 2011;11(9): 750-752. https://doi.org/10.5812/kowsar.1735143X.723.

Abstract

Background: Viral hepatitis caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading cause of acute and chronic liver diseases worldwide.
Objectives: In Italy, a mandatory vaccination policy was introduced in 1991 and was established for all newborns and 12-year-old individuals. In 2004, vaccination of 12-year-old adolescents was discontinued, and that of infants was maintained.
Patients and Methods: We evaluated the seroprevalence of HBV markers in 806 individuals, who were vaccinated at birth or at 12 years of age, to assess the effectiveness of the national policy against HBV.
Results: The overall prevalence of anti-HBs antibodies was 90.32% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 88.28-92.36%); 2.23% (95% CI: 1.21-3.25%) of the subjects were positive for both antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs) and antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), whereas 5.83% (95% CI 4.21-7.45) of the subjects were negative for all markers tested. Further, 1.61% (95% CI: 0.74-2.48%) of the subjects were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).
Conclusions: Our data provide additional evidence that HBV vaccination can confer long-term immunity when performed at birth and when performed for healthy adolescents; moreover, the results show the effectiveness of the application of a national vaccination strategy.

Keywords: Hepatitis B; Vaccination; Effectiveness evaluation; Long-term immunity

  • Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:
    HBV prevention plays an important role to prevent diseases in different societies. Being familiar with HBV controlling methods, can help health policy makers to prevent different diseases in different countries.
  • Please cite this paper as:
    Campagna M, Siddu A, Meloni A, Murru C, Masia G, Coppola RC. Epidemiological Impact of Mandatory Vaccination Against Hepatitis B in Italian Young Adults. Hepat Mon. 2011;11(9):750-2. DOI: 10.5812/kowsar.1735143X.723

 © 2011 Kowsar M.P.Co. All rights reserved.

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