الملخص الإنجليزي
Objectives: The study was undertaken, first, to determine the coverage rate of hepatitis B (HB) vaccine
and second to evaluate the immune response to HB vaccine among children under 10 years old by measuring the
level of circulating anti-HB surface antigen (anti-HBs) antibodies after immunisation with three doses. Methods: First, 840 children were randomly selected from 4 randomly selected sites in Sana'a city to study the coverage
rate of the vaccine; of these, 504 children vaccinated against HBV prior to the study, were tested (56% males and
44% females). Sera were tested for anti-HBs antibodies by ELISA quantitative technique. Each individual's data
was collected in a pre-designed questionnaire including: vaccination date, sex, and age at the time of the study.
Results: The coverage rate of HBV vaccine was only 69.9%, being slightly higher among male children (72.1%)
than female children (66.8%). A total of 276 (54.8%) of the 504 children responded to the vaccine with anti-HBs
antibody level ≥ 10 mIU/ml, while 228 (45.2%) of the 504 children had non-protective anti-HBs antibodies levels
(<10IU/ml). Children of ages 3–5 years had the highest protective rate (63.6%), and the lowest protective rate
was in the 9–10 years age group. Conclusion: This study revealed a low coverage rate of HBV vaccine and a low
protective rate against HBV infection. A considerable proportion of vaccinated children should be considered for
either revaccination or booster doses. There is also the need to complete HBV vaccine coverage among the child
population in San'a, Yemen.
