Response to the Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine in Iranian Infants

The aim of this study was to evaluate infants' immune response to the hepatitis b virus (hbv)vaccination.methods: this was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out on 215 infants 7-12 months of age in the golestanprovince in northeastern iran in 2006. these children had already received the complete three-dose vaccination againsthepatitis b. the serumal levels of hepatitis b surface antigen antibody (anti-hbs), hepatitis b core antibody (anti-hbc),and hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa).results: of all 215 participants, 55.3% were males. all of them were 7-12 months old. eighty-six percent of the studiedcases responded positively to the vaccination. the response rate for males was lower than the rate for females (p =0.34).conclusions: we found that non-response to hbv vaccination is an important issue in our area. further studies areneeded to assess the influence of major factors such as the vaccination procedure, the type and site of inoculation, andvaccine preservation and transportation.