Resumen

Hepatitis A vaccination in healthcare personnel Guturu P, et al. Despite the readily available vaccine, hepatitis A (HAV) continues to cause significant preventable morbidity and mortality. In particular, healthcare personnel (HCP) in contact with bodily fluids are at higher risk. Guturu, et al. assessed HAV immunoprotection status amongst HCP at their centre at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston TX, via anonymous surveys. 499 surveys were sent. Among the 207 (41.4%) subjects who responded, 60 (28.9%) were vaccinated. Of those, 35 (58.9%) received the full three-dose series and 15 (24.7%) were tested for post-vaccination immunity. Among the respondents, up to 22.4% reported a prior healthcare-related HAV exposure event. A statistically significantly higher vaccination rate was found in US-born respondents compared to foreign-born respondents (34.3 vs. 19.3%, p = 0.0324). Although the incidence of HAV is expected to decrease, HAV vaccination rate among HCP at the author’s centre remains suboptimal when compared to mandatory vaccines. Of interest is the fact that influenza vaccine during approximately the same period of time at the authors’ institution was 90% suggesting that HCP will get vaccines if motivated. Better HCP education as to the risks of HAV may be warranted in the future in order to enhance voluntary rates of vaccination. Further studies should be conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of mandating HAV vaccination in all HCP.

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2012-04-19   |   502 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 11 Núm.3. Mayo-Junio 2012 Pags. 282-293 Ann Hepatol 2012; 11(3)