Vaccination against hepatitis b virus: are Italian medical students sufficiently protected after the public vaccination programme?

• Published in: Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) England), 2015-11, Vol.10 (41), p.41-41, Article 41
• Main Authors: Lamberti, Monica, De Rosa, Alfredo, Garzillo, Elpidio Maria, Corvino, Anna Rita, Sannolo, Nicola, De Pascalis, Stefania, Di Fiore, Eliana, Westermann, Claudia, Arnese, Antonio, Gabriella, Di Giuseppe, Nienhaus, Albert, Sobrinho, Antônio Paulino Ribeiro, Coppola, Nicola
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Health aspects; Hepatitis B vaccine; Medical students; Occupational health; Public health administration; Safety and security measures
• ISSN: 1745-6673; 1745-6673
• DOI: 10.1186/s12995-015-0083-4

The development of a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been a major achievement in terms of prevention of HBV infection. For the present study, we analysed the long-term immunogenicity and effectiveness of HBV vaccination among healthcare students with different working seniorities. A cross-sectional study of undergraduate and postgraduate students attending the Medical School of the Second University of Naples was conducted between September 2012 and December 2014. HBV serum markers were determined and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the level of long-term immunogenicity. Of the 2,932 subjects evaluated, only 33 (1.1 %) declared no history of vaccination. All vaccinated subjects were HBsAg/anti-HBc negative, 459 of which had an anti-HBs titre