Introduction: Hepatitis B immunization was introduced into the National Immunization Programme (NIP) of Sri Lanka in three phases in 2003. The study evaluates the protective efficacy of 2, 4, 6 month schedule of hepatitis B vaccination in the NIP in Sri Lanka. Methods: A cross sectional study carried out among 154 infants (completed 9 months of age) attending the NIP in the Bope Poddala Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area in Galle District in 2008. Hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) titres were tested using a quantitative enzyme immunoassay test. Forty-two infants detected with low titres of antibodies were given a booster dose of hepatitis B vaccine and HBsAb titer was retested 2-4 weeks later. Results: The overall protection (HBsAb titre >10 mIU/mL) after 3 doses of vaccine was 94.2% with a geometric mean titre of 233.37 mIU/mL. There were 5.8% infants with HBsAb titres <10 mIU/mL and 30.5% with HBsAb titres between 10 to 100 mIU/mL. Sex, birth weight, body mass index and weight for height were not significantly associated with HBsAb levels. None of the infants had potential risk factors for acquiring hepatitis B virus infection. Only 26 out of 42 re-vaccinated infants returned for repeat testing of antibody levels where all had demonstrated a protective level. Conclusions: The majority of infants seroconverted following three doses of Hepatitis B vaccine in NIP in Sri Lanka and the rest picked up the antibody levels following a booster dose.
One of the most important aspects of any kind of business is occupational health and safety management. A healthy workforce contributes more to the success of a production. The sugar industry is one of the major risk-oriented, agro-based industry in Sri Lanka, though less concern on mitigation practices to minimize the risks of workplace. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared and gathered relevant data from workers as quantitative data. Qualitative data were collected from observations through the factory visit. All the observation-based risks and hazards identified were tabulated and the seriousness of risk was calculated, using the risk matrix tool. Using a risk matrix, appropriate mitigation methods were suggested and evaluated. Finally, it was evaluated the progress of mitigation methods by comparing the risk values at identification step and suggestion step. The ultimate objective of this research is to identify the workplace hazards frequently occurred in the Factory Department of Lanka Sugar Company Private Limited, Pelwatte and apply the risk assessment tool to the workplace to suggest appropriate mitigation measures, based on the risk assessment tool. The result of quantitative analysis showed that 54% of workers have lower levels of satisfaction about occupational health and safety conditions in the factory while 60% of them were not satisfied with the available occupational health and safety facilities. The research result showed that working conditions existed in the sugar mills were not at satisfactory level regarding employees' occupational health and safety. Also in this research, it was clearly identified that workers were not very much keen on safety during their work. Although, 26.5% eye injuries were recorded, but still the welders without safety goggles commonly observed during the factory visit. Even though the company arranged safety awareness programs frequently in higher risk-oriented sections only 56% of the labours had sufficient awareness on occupational health and safety while others suggest the programs should be practical oriented. The study suggests that there should be practical awareness programs on occupational health and safety, sufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) relevant to the job performance and it highly recommended that there must be continued inspections of job performance and usage of safety precautions, for higher employee performance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.