Insufficient Antibody Response to Hepatitis B Vaccine in Hospital Employees

Strategic Insights -

A study published in 1998 by a team of researchers at the Sanz Medical Center-Laniado Hospital in Netanya, Israel, investigated the effectiveness of the recombinant DNA Hepatitis B vaccine (Engerix-B) in protecting hospital employees against Hepatitis B virus infection. The study, which examined 148 hospital employees at different time periods after immunization, found that a significant number of individuals failed to develop sufficient antibody levels, despite receiving the recommended dose of the vaccine.

Key Takeaways:

  • 20 (13.5%) hospital employees had insufficient levels of antibody response, with titers less than 10 mIU/ml, indicating they were considered unprotected.
  • 46 (31.1%) hospital employees had feeble protection, with HBsAb titers between 11 and 100 mIU/ml.
  • 82 (55.4%) hospital employees were considered sufficiently protected, with HBsAb titers greater than 100 mIU/ml.
  • 2 (1.4%) hospital employees had very high levels of HBsAb, with titers of 1000 mIU/ml.
  • Analysis of demographic and occupational factors did not indicate a correlation with immune status.

Statistics:

  • 148 hospital employees were examined in the study.
  • 20 (13.5%) hospital employees had insufficient antibody levels.
  • 46 (31.1%) hospital employees had feeble protection.
  • 82 (55.4%) hospital employees were considered sufficiently protected.
  • 2 (1.4%) hospital employees had very high levels of HBsAb.

Sources:

E. Platkov, H. Berlin, Y. Glick, E. Shlyakhov, and A. Fischbein. "Hepatitis B virus infection: A major occupational health hazard in the health care sector." Int J Infect Dis (Abstract), May 15-18, 1998.