Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus infection and vaccination compliance among health care workers in Fars Province, Iran

Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are at high risk for acquisition of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection due to occupational exposure to potentially infectious body fluids. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of HBV markers and vaccination compliance among different categories of HCWs in Fars Province, Iran. Patients and methods: A total of 346 HCWs working at Gerash and Evaz hospitals, were included. Serological HBV markers were detected in serum samples of HCWs by ELISA method. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the significant difference. Results: The study population included 114 males and 232 females with their age ranged 20-59 years. Totally, 299 cases had received HBV vaccine. The overall prevalence of HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc among HCWs was 2.6%, 78.6% and 6.4%, respectively. The prevalence of HBsAg was higher in non-professional staff group (5%) but the anti-HBc rate was higher among aid-nurse group (12%). No significant difference was found for HBsAg and anti-HBc positivity between different variables including gender, age group and occupation. Significantly higher prevalence of compliance rate was observed among technician (96.8%) and nurses (88.4%) than non-professional staff (74.3%). Conclusion: Results revealed that HCWs are at higher risk for acquiring HBV infection than general population, thus, an intense program for education, vaccination and post vaccination assessment is mandatory