title: Hepatitis A vaccination in healthcare personnel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite effective vaccine available, hepatitis A remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide including acute liver failure, transplantation and death. Vaccination rates for hepatitis A in the general population are low. Rates of hepatitis A vaccination in healthcare personnel (HCP) are unknown. We studied vaccination rate to hepatitis A in a cohort of HCP at a large US academic center.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anonymous survey was circulated between 499 HCP at-risk of hepatitis A exposure at our Institution. Results were corrected for non-response rate and compared with the general US population using the 2007 CDC-National Immunization Survey. Rate of hepatitis A vaccination was compared with Institutional rate of vaccination for the Influenza 2009-2010 season.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rate of vaccination for hepatitis A in HCP was 28.8% (response rate 41.4%; 207/499), with 58.9% having completed the full series and 24.7% being tested for post-vaccination immunity. Acceptance rate among non-vaccinated subjects was 70.7%. HCP hepatitis A vaccination rate was statistically greater than the national general population (28.8 vs. 12.1%, p ≤ 0.031). A statistically significant greater vaccination rate was found among US born responders vs. foreign-born HCP (34.3 vs. 19.3%, p = 0.0324). Vaccination for hepatitis A was statistically inferior to that of Influenza (28.8 vs. 90%; P = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HCP have statistically higher vaccination rate for hepatitis A than the general population, but overall protection remains suboptimal with vaccination rate below those for mandatory vaccines. Further studies to determine whether hepatitis A vaccine is cost-effective in HCP are recommended.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, 77555, USA.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guturu
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cicalese
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duchini
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006282:Health Personnel; D006306:Health Surveys; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines