[Prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigens and Hepatitis B Surface Antibodies in 1-12 Years-old Children in Mianyang,Sichuan].

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg) and hepatitis B surface antibodies (anti-HBs) in 1-12 years-old children in Mianyang city,Sichuan Province.

METHODS

Children born after the implementation of Hepatitis B immunization policy were selected using a stratified random cluster sampling strategy from January to December 2015. A total of 72 623 eligible children participated in the study,which included a questionnaire survey and blood tests (0.3 mL vein blood) for HBsAg and anti-HBs with ELISA method. Repeated tests were performed on the blood samples with a HBsAg positive result.

RESULTS

About 0.24% of the children were HBsAg positive; 64.50% were anti-HBs positive; 35.26% were both HBsAg and anti-HBs negative. The standardized rates based on the 2010 population census were: 0.24% HBsAg positive,64.05% anti-HBs positive,and 35.71% both HBsAg and anti-HBs negative. HBsAg positive rates increased with age, ranging from 0% to 0.65% (<0.001). Rural children had a higher HBsAg positive rate (0.32%) than their urban counterparts (0.16%,<0.001). Those with a family history of Hepatitis B had a higher HBsAg positive rate (1.53%) than those without a family history (0.22%,<0.001). Anti-HBs positive rates decreased withage,ranging from 47.85% to 71.43% (<0.001). Rural children had a lower anti-HBs positive rate (62.06%)than their urban counterparts (66.81%,<0.001). The prevalence of both HBsAg and anti-HBs negative cases increased with age,ranging from 28.57% to 51.98% (<0.001). Rural children had a higher rate of both HBsAg and anti-HBs negative (37.62%) than their urban counterparts (33.03%,<0.001). About 35.37% of the children who had negative HBsAg and anti-HBs had not received Hepatitis B immunization.

CONCLUSION

Hepatitis B vaccinations are highly effective in Mianyang. However,there are disparities in anti-HBs positive rates between the children with different characteristics. A certain proportion of children are still susceptible to hepatitis B infection. It is necessary to attach importance to neonatal hepatitis B vaccination,surveillance on anti-HBs,and strengthened immunization for the children who are lack of antibody protection.