International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | November 2018 | Vol 6 | Issue 11 Page 3669 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Khan D et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2018 Nov;6(11):3669-3672 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article Immunization status of students of Nishtar medical university against hepatitis B Dilawar Khan, Hassan Abdullah Shakeel, Hamza Maqsood*, Hafiz Muhammad Ahmar Aziz, Muhammad Jahantab Qazi, Syed Asfand Yar Shah INTRODUCTION Two major forms of hepatitis, B and C, are among the most serious and prevalent diseases. These two viral infectious diseases are among the major health problems, especially in developing countries. 1 Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is seen in all ages and all around the world with high morbidity and mortality. According to global statistics over two billion cases are infected with hepatitis B of whom 350 million are chronic carriers. 2 Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood. It is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV. Possible forms of transmission include sexual contact, blood transfusions and transfusion with other human blood products, re-use of contaminated needles and syringes, and vertical Department of Community Medicine, Nishtar Medical University, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan Received: 22 August 2018 Accepted: 26 September 2018 *Correspondence: Dr. Hamza Maqsood, E-mail: hamzamaqsood381@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Occupational exposure of health care workers and medical students increase their risk of acquiring HBV infection, and many authorities recommend vaccination. However, significant proportions of health care workers do not receive HBV immunization, and remain at increased risk to HBV infection. The present study was conducted on medical students to evaluate their knowledge regarding HBV and to know their vaccination status. Methods: This cross sectional, randomized, observational study was done at Nishtar medical university, Multan from November 2017 to July 2018. A pre-structured and tested questionnaire was given to 150 medical students from first year to final year. Out of these students 75 were males and 75 were females. The students were also interviewed about age, gender, year of study, screening before vaccination, history of vaccination, completion of all 3 doses and reasons for not getting vaccinated. Results: Out of 150 participants, 117 (78%) were vaccinated against HBV. In the vaccinated group, 90 (77%) completed all the three doses of their vaccination schedule and remaining 27 (23%) students were incompletely vaccinated. Rate of vaccine uptake was higher in females; 63 (84%) than in males: 53 (71%). Reasons of not being vaccinated were lack of knowledge about consequences (15.5%), casual behaviour (36%), not knowing from where to get vaccine (12%), fear of injection (10%), busy in studies (10%) and financial problems (8%). Prior screening was done in 74 (63%) students before the vaccination. Conclusions: Despite the availability and accessibility of a cost-effective hepatitis B vaccine since mid80's, the vaccination coverage among medical students is low. Health education needs to be improved in all medical students. The orientation and awareness programmes should be held to create awareness regarding HBV infection. Keywords: Cost effective, Hepatitis B, Medical students, Vaccination, Vaccine DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20184427