Al-Romaihi Hamad, Al-Masri Hana, Shawky Sherine, Al Thani Mohammed, Al Awaidy Salah, Janahi Mohamed Ahmed, Derbala Moutaz, Al-Ansari Khalid, Allison Robert
Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Social Research Center, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt.
East Mediterr Health J. 2018 Oct 10;24(8):736-744. doi: 10.26719/2018.24.8.736.
In 2010, Qatar adopted the target of reducing hepatitis B prevalence to < 1% in children by 2015. The World Health Organization Region for the Eastern Mediterranean is identified with intermediate hepatitis B virus (HBV) endemicity, ranging from 2% to 7%. It is estimated that 4.3 million individuals are living with HBV infection in the Region.
This study was conducted to assess hepatitis B seroprevalence in children, hepatitis B vaccination coverage, potential exposure to risk factors, and knowledge among parents/guardians about hepatitis B infection.
We carried out this cross-sectional study in Qatar during the academic year 2015/16. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select a nationally representative sample of 2735 grade 1 school students aged ≥ 5 years. Blood was collected by finger prick and tested using the point-of-care test/rapid test. A self-administered, precoded questionnaire was used to assess parent/guardian knowledge about HBV and collect information on the child's HBV vaccination coverage.
All blood samples were HBsAg negative. Qataris had a vaccination card and were totally vaccinated but 17.7% of non-Qataris did not hold a vaccination card and most parents/guardians were not aware of the vaccination status of their children. Children were exposed to various hepatitis B risk practices. Knowledge about hepatitis B among parents/ guardians was low.
Qatar has averted the hepatitis B threat and maintained high vaccination coverage for children.
2010年，卡塔尔设定了到2015年将儿童乙肝患病率降至1%以下的目标。世界卫生组织东地中海区域被确定为乙肝病毒（HBV）中度流行地区，流行率在2%至7%之间。据估计，该区域有430万人感染乙肝病毒。
本研究旨在评估儿童乙肝血清流行率、乙肝疫苗接种覆盖率、潜在危险因素暴露情况以及家长/监护人对乙肝感染的知晓情况。
我们在2015/16学年于卡塔尔开展了这项横断面研究。采用多阶段整群抽样方法，选取了2735名年龄≥5岁的一年级在校学生作为具有全国代表性的样本。通过手指采血，并使用即时检测/快速检测进行检测。采用自行填写的预编码问卷来评估家长/监护人对乙肝病毒的知晓情况，并收集有关儿童乙肝疫苗接种覆盖率的信息。
所有血样的乙肝表面抗原均为阴性。卡塔尔人持有疫苗接种卡且已全程接种，但17.7%的非卡塔尔人没有疫苗接种卡，且大多数家长/监护人并不知晓其子女的疫苗接种状况。儿童接触过各种乙肝风险行为。家长/监护人对乙肝的知晓程度较低。
卡塔尔已避免了乙肝威胁，并维持了儿童的高疫苗接种覆盖率。
