title: Cost effectiveness of prevaccination screening for hepatitis B antibody.
abstract: The cost effectiveness of screening for hepatitis B antibodies prior to instituting a vaccination program was investigated. Prevaccination screening tests for anti-HBs were performed on sera from 295 faculty and staff. Anti-HBs positive titers were found for 58 persons, and 43 (14.6 percent) of these had titers high enough to confer immunity. The cost of screening 295 persons was $1,666.64, or $5.65 per participant. By not vaccinating 43 persons, $4,498.23 was saved. A prevaccination screening would be most cost effective if only faculty with patient contact were screened.
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005179:Faculty, Dental; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000191:economics / Q000276:immunology*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics; D014611:Vaccination / Q000191:economics*
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies