Hepatitis B vaccine immunogenicity among nurses of a hospital

The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting hepatitis B vaccine immunogenicity among nursing staff of Teaching Hospital, Jaffna. 152 nursing staffs were recruited from April to July 2013. Those who received three doses had 7.7% failure rate in developing protective immune response. Failure rates were 20% in those who received one dose and 10.6% in two doses. Following vaccination, participants who had chickenpox had a failure rate of 75% (n=13; p=0.02). Pregnancy significantly impaired protective immunity among those who received two doses (p=0.03). Three doses of hepatitis B vaccine may not be sufficient to protect the vaccinees. Therefore assessment of HBsAb titres is warranted after vaccination.