Long-term Immunity Against Hepatitis B Virus After Routine Immunization Among Adults Visiting Primary Care Centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the persistence of induced immunity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) among adults routinely vaccinated during their infancy and correlate the level of induced immunity with participant characteristics. MethodologyThis was a cross-sectional study conducted among visitors to primary care centers of the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) during the period from August 2020 to January 2021. The study population included healthy adults of both genders who had received full doses of the HBV vaccine in infancy. Data related to participant characteristics were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. A blood sample was then taken from each participant to measure the serum level of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies against HBsAg (anti-HBs), and antibodies against hepatitis B core antigen (ani-HBc). ResultsA total of 400 subjects participated in the study; the mean age of the cohort was 25 years. Almost all of them were Saudis (99.30%), and more than half (57.50%) were males. Only 24.30% had an anti-HBs antibodies level of ≥10 IU/L, and all respondents were negative for HBs antigen. No significant association between participant characteristics and anti-HBs antibody levels was found. ConclusionA decline in immunity many years after HBV vaccinations taken in infancy has been well-documented. However, for low-risk populations, the boosting of HBV vaccines is probably unnecessary since the immune memory provides sufficient protection despite low or undetectable anti-HBs antibodies.

Prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections in Saudi Arabia blood donors

“…It has been reported that even after HBV vaccination, the prevalence of anti-HBs (such as a marker of immunization that was not reported here) can progressively decrease with age in the presence or absence of anti-HBc. 23 An earlier, population-based survey in Saudi Arabia identified the Southern region and Tabouk province as hyperendemic areas for HBV. 24 It was hypothesized that HBV prevalence in these regions might be influenced by populations of neighboring countries known to be HBV endemic.…”

Persistence of hepatitis B surface antibody to hepatitis B vaccine among medical college students in Najran University, Saudi Arabia

“…Therefore, our finding in terms of blood group frequency among participants agrees with this study. As a result, Saudi Arabia's health authorities, as recommended before by another study [ 17 ], should be encouraged to work together to conduct bigger research comparable to that of [ 15 , 14 ], which followed individuals for thirty years. Our findings support another study that found unsatisfactory levels of protection amongst health care workers who received vaccination during childhood [ 25 ].…”

“…As an easily accessible factor in an individual's genetic makeup, ABO blood groups have been statistically and biologically associated with many chronic diseases as well as some viral infections [ 13 - 14 ]. The epidemiological studies have explored the relationship between ABO blood group and HBV infection [ 15 ]. However, the results have found that HBV prevalence in a highly endemic area was lower in blood group B, but higher in blood group O.…”

“…However, the results have found that HBV prevalence in a highly endemic area was lower in blood group B, but higher in blood group O. This suggested that "universal" blood group O was associated with increased susceptibility to HBV infection [ 15 ] and precautionary measures should be taken for safe blood transfusion particularly in a community with low HBV vaccine uptake. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the anti-HBs levels in the serum of medical sciences students born after 2000 in order to verify the persistence of immunity over time after vaccination.…”

Epidemiologic and clinical updates on viral infections in Saudi Arabia

“…There are several drugs in advanced stages of clinical development including bulevirtide, JNJ-6379, ABI-H0731, ARO-HBV, and REP-2139, in which expectations indicate that combination therapies of antivirals and immune modulators achieve the maximum benefits of treatment ( Soriano et al, 2020 ). Saudi Arabia is one of the endemic countries with HBV infection in the Middle East ( AlAteeq et al, 2022 ), since 1989, it has implemented a mandatory vaccination program for HBV immunization ( Table 2 ), which has shown significant efficacy in declining cases over the past 20 years ( Ahmad et al, 2022 ).…”