Abstract

Commonness of Blood-Borne Infections and Hepatitis B Immunization Status among Haemodialysis Patients In Focal Australia

Author(s): Matthew Andrews

A cross-sectional study of the prevalence of blood-borne viruses and hepatitis B vaccination status among Central Australian haemodialysis patients. 8.4% of patients had chronic hepatitis B infection, and 28.3% had serological evidence of human T-lymphotropic virus 1. HIV and hepatitis C were less common than 1% of the population. All 182 hepatitis B vaccine recipients’ vaccination statuses were examined. 72.2% of patients who had received the vaccine at birth or in early childhood showed vaccine response. Before beginning their haemodialysis, 99 patients over the age of 20 had received the hepatitis B vaccine. 88.9% of these patients responded to the vaccine. After starting haemodialysis, vaccine-nave patients who received the hepatitis B vaccine experienced a seroconversion rate of 78.5 percent.