Rate of hepatitis B seropositivity following mass vaccination in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Universal vaccination of all neonates against hepatitis B virus has been implemented in the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1993. To evaluate the efficacy of the programme, 2 large seroepidemiologic surveys were conducted before and after mass vaccination on a representative sample of 1/1000 of the population. The overall seropositivity rate showed no significant decline between 1991 and 1999 but in the age group 2-14 years the rates reduced significantly (1.3% versus 0.8%, P < 0.05). Interestingly, we observed a significantly higher decline in hepatitis B virus carrier rate in rural (1.5% versus 0.6%) than urban areas (1.1% versus 0.9%). Universal vaccination significantly decreased the carrier rate among young children in this country.
Research Centre for Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. nnzali@hotmail.com
M R
MR
Zali
K
K
Mohammad
A A
AA
Noorbala
B
B
Noorimayer
S
S
Shahraz
S
S
Sahraz
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002353:Carrier State / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006306:Health Surveys; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D032541:Mass Vaccination / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens