B safe, B sorted: results of a hepatitis B vaccination outreach programme

The risk of hepatitis B among men having sex with men (MSM) is high, with core antibody rates ranging from 5% to 81%. We describe an outreach, hepatitis B vaccination programme aiming to raise awareness of hepatitis B and increase vaccination uptake. The 13-week programme used an ultra rapid vaccination schedule. Follow-up was defined as complete if the client was core antibody positive, had adequate surface antibody levels following prior vaccination or received three vaccine doses. One hundred and fifty clients were screened for hepatitis B and syphilis. Three cases of untreated syphilis (early latent) and one case of e-antigen-positive hepatitis B were detected. With the aid of text-message reminders, a vaccination completion rate of 76.6% was achieved, with 82.5% completing follow-up. In conclusion, this programme succeeded in reaching MSM not routinely accessing services. Text messaging was an acceptable and effective method of follow-up, resulting in high vaccination completion rates.