Objective: Hospitals are a high-risk setting for vaccine-preventable diseases such as hepatitis A and B, mumps, measles, rubella (MMR), and chickenpox. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the protection of seronegative adolescent students in health vocational high schools. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, MMR and chickenpox in health vocational high school students interning at a tertiary training and research hospital. Material and Methods: Demographic characteristics and hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs), hepatitis A immunoglobulin G (anti-HAV IgG), mumps IgG, measles IgG, rubella IgG, and varicella zoster virus (VZV) IgG levels of health vocational high school students who applied for or completed an internship in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Of 946 students with complete routine childhood vaccination (median age 17 years, range 15-18 years; 75.7% female), anti-HBs was positive in 82.6%, anti-HAV IgG in 14.7%, measles IgG in 76.2%, mumps IgG in 88%, rubella IgG in 96.8%, and VZV IgG in 91.7%. There was a statistically significant but negligible positive correlation between anti-HBs level and age (r= 0.072, p= 0.029). There was no difference in the seroprevalence of anti-HBs, anti-HAV, MMR, or VZV antibodies by gender (p> 0.05). Conclusion: The seroprevalence of hepatitis A, measles, and hepatitis B antibodies was found to be low among the health vocational high school students in this study. It is important to determine students’ immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases and take precautions before starting vocational high school. ©Telif Hakkı 2024 Çocuk Enfeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Bağışıklama Derneği.
Author Keywords
Index Keywords
