Evaluation of the Status of Immunity to HBV Infection in a Group of Basic Medical Science Students in Tabriz

Background and Aims: Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease. Thus, the present study focused on antibody titer among HBV-vaccinated medical students in order to evaluate the efficacy of Hepatitis B vaccine and the associated factors. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 184 medical students were enrolled. Blood samples were taken from the participants in order to detection of antibody against Hepatitis BsAg by ELISA. Data analysis was done by Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. Results: According to the obtained results, 1.1% of the students had a negative titer, while another 53.8 % were in the borderline situation; whereas 45.1% produced a positive titer. Furthermore, the results revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between Hepatitis B antibody titer values and variables such as gender (P<0/05). Conclusion: By considering the fact that medical students are at greater risk of HBV infection, it is necessary to schedule the determination of serum anti-HBs titer to improve the immunization programs and to decrease the risk of infection before internship program. Re-vaccination (booster shot) is also necessary for people with low titers anti- HBs or loss antibody and controls their antibody titers, and also in who are considered as high-risk group in the society.