Yaita Kenichiro, Yahara Koji, Sakai Yoshiro, Iwahashi Jun, Masunaga Kenji, Hamada Nobuyuki, Watanabe Hiroshi
Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Kurume University School of Medicine.
Department of Bacteriology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Kurume Med J. 2017 May 8;63(3.4):69-76. doi: 10.2739/kurumemedj.MS00018. Epub 2017 Mar 15.
This study clarified the characteristics of travelers who received hepatitis B vaccinations. Subjects were 233 Japanese travelers who visited our clinic prior to travel. We summarized the characteristics of the clients and performed two comparative studies: first, we compared a hepatitis B-vaccinated group with an unvaccinated group; second, we compared a group that had completed the hepatitis B vaccine series with a group that did not complete the series. The hepatitis B vaccine was administered to 152 clients. Factors positively associated with the hepatitis B vaccination (after adjusting for age and sex) included the following: travel for business or travel as an accompanying family member; travel to Asia; travel for a duration of a month or more; and, inclusion of the vaccine in a company or organization's payment plan. Meanwhile, factors negatively associated with the vaccination were travel for leisure or education, and travel to North America or Africa. Among 89 record-confirmed cases, only 53 completed 3 doses. The completion rate was negatively associated with the scheduled duration of travel if it was from a month to less than a year (after adjusting for age and sex). The present study provides a basis for promoting vaccination compliance more vigorously among Japanese adults.
