Long-term immunity to hepatitis B among a sample of fully vaccinated children in Cairo, Egypt.
We assessed the long-term immunity to hepatitis B among 242 Egyptian children aged 6-12 years who had received a full vaccination course in infancy, and investigated the factors associated with immunity. Only 39.4% of the children had protective (> or = 10 lU/L) hepatitis B surface antibody levels (HBsAb). This proportion decreased with age but the decrease was not statistically significant. The mean level of HBsAb decreased significantly with increasing age (P = 0.026). A significant negative correlation was found between current age and HBsAb levels (r = -0.31, P = 0.041). Age and weight-for-age were found to be significant predictors of non-protective HBsAb levels.
Shaaban
F A
FA
Department of Child Health, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt. fatmashaaban123@hotmail.com
Hassanin
A I
AI
Samy
S M
SM
Salama
S I
SI
Said
Z N
ZN
D000367:Age Factors; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007110:Immunity, Active; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009313:National Health Programs; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods
D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines