Evaluating the hepatitis B vaccination impact in the Republic of Moldova: A nationwide representative serosurvey of children born in 2013

Michael Brandl; Alexei Ceban; Octavian Sajin; Victoria Bucov; Alina Cataraga; Silvia Stratulat; Nicolae Furtuna; Veaceslav Gutu; Stela Gheorghita; Martyna Gassowski; Liudmila Mosina; Antons Mozalevskis; Sandra Dudareva; Siddhartha Sankar Datta

doi:10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003

Evaluating the hepatitis B vaccination impact in the Republic of Moldova: A nationwide representative serosurvey of children born in 2013

Michael Brandl (Corresponding Author), Alexei Ceban, Octavian Sajin, Victoria Bucov, Alina Cataraga, Silvia Stratulat, Nicolae Furtuna, Veaceslav Gutu, Stela Gheorghita, Martyna Gassowski, Liudmila Mosina, Antons Mozalevskis, Sandra Dudareva, Siddhartha Sankar Datta

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: The WHO European Region set targets for the control of hepatitis B through immunization, including prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at ≤0.5% in vaccinated cohorts. The Republic of Moldova implemented universal hepatitis B vaccination since 1995. We conducted a nationwide representative serosurvey to estimate HBsAg seroprevalence in children born in 2013 to validate hepatitis B control targets. Methods: We used probability-based sampling and a two-stage cluster design. All children born in 2013 and registered in primary healthcare facilities were eligible for participation. We tested blood samples of all participants for hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc), using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Anti-HBc-positive samples were tested for HBsAg and HBsAg-positive samples confirmed, using ELISA. We obtained information on hepatitis B vaccination from vaccination cards. Results: Of 3352 sampled children, 3064 (91%) participated. Most participating children were 7 years old (n = 3030, 99%), 1426 (48%) were girls. The weighted, national seroprevalence estimate was 3.1% (95% confidence interval = 2.1-4.5) for anti-HBc and 0.21% (95% confidence interval = 0.08-0.53) for HBsAg. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the impact of hepatitis B vaccination and allowed the Republic of Moldova to validate regional hepatitis B control targets. Other countries with high vaccination coverage could use hepatitis B serosurveys and apply for validation. Sustained efforts in the Republic of Moldova will be crucial on the path to hepatitis B elimination.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	60-66
Number of pages	7
Journal	IJID Regions
Volume	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003
Publication status	Published - Mar 2024
Externally published	Yes

Keywords*

Europe
Hepatitis B
Prevalence
Republic of Moldova
Seroepidemiologic study
Vaccination

Field of Science*

3.3 Health sciences

Publication Type*

1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Brandl, M., Ceban, A., Sajin, O., Bucov, V., Cataraga, A., Stratulat, S., Furtuna, N., Gutu, V., Gheorghita, S., Gassowski, M., Mosina, L., Mozalevskis, A., Dudareva, S., & Datta, S. S. (2024). Evaluating the hepatitis B vaccination impact in the Republic of Moldova: A nationwide representative serosurvey of children born in 2013. IJID Regions, 10, 60-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003

@article{8f8026701ef24872af8d2c7601f40e7b,

title = "Evaluating the hepatitis B vaccination impact in the Republic of Moldova: A nationwide representative serosurvey of children born in 2013",

abstract = "Objectives: The WHO European Region set targets for the control of hepatitis B through immunization, including prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at ≤0.5\% in vaccinated cohorts. The Republic of Moldova implemented universal hepatitis B vaccination since 1995. We conducted a nationwide representative serosurvey to estimate HBsAg seroprevalence in children born in 2013 to validate hepatitis B control targets. Methods: We used probability-based sampling and a two-stage cluster design. All children born in 2013 and registered in primary healthcare facilities were eligible for participation. We tested blood samples of all participants for hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc), using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Anti-HBc-positive samples were tested for HBsAg and HBsAg-positive samples confirmed, using ELISA. We obtained information on hepatitis B vaccination from vaccination cards. Results: Of 3352 sampled children, 3064 (91\%) participated. Most participating children were 7 years old (n = 3030, 99\%), 1426 (48\%) were girls. The weighted, national seroprevalence estimate was 3.1\% (95\% confidence interval = 2.1-4.5) for anti-HBc and 0.21\% (95\% confidence interval = 0.08-0.53) for HBsAg. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the impact of hepatitis B vaccination and allowed the Republic of Moldova to validate regional hepatitis B control targets. Other countries with high vaccination coverage could use hepatitis B serosurveys and apply for validation. Sustained efforts in the Republic of Moldova will be crucial on the path to hepatitis B elimination.",

keywords = "Europe, Hepatitis B, Prevalence, Republic of Moldova, Seroepidemiologic study, Vaccination",

author = "Michael Brandl and Alexei Ceban and Octavian Sajin and Victoria Bucov and Alina Cataraga and Silvia Stratulat and Nicolae Furtuna and Veaceslav Gutu and Stela Gheorghita and Martyna Gassowski and Liudmila Mosina and Antons Mozalevskis and Sandra Dudareva and Datta, \{Siddhartha Sankar\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023",

year = "2024",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003",

language = "English",

volume = "10",

pages = "60--66",

journal = "IJID Regions",

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Brandl, M, Ceban, A, Sajin, O, Bucov, V, Cataraga, A, Stratulat, S, Furtuna, N, Gutu, V, Gheorghita, S, Gassowski, M, Mosina, L, Mozalevskis, A, Dudareva, S & Datta, SS 2024, 'Evaluating the hepatitis B vaccination impact in the Republic of Moldova: A nationwide representative serosurvey of children born in 2013', IJID Regions, vol. 10, pp. 60-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evaluating the hepatitis B vaccination impact in the Republic of Moldova

T2 - A nationwide representative serosurvey of children born in 2013

AU - Brandl, Michael

AU - Ceban, Alexei

AU - Sajin, Octavian

AU - Bucov, Victoria

AU - Cataraga, Alina

AU - Stratulat, Silvia

AU - Furtuna, Nicolae

AU - Gutu, Veaceslav

AU - Gheorghita, Stela

AU - Gassowski, Martyna

AU - Mosina, Liudmila

AU - Mozalevskis, Antons

AU - Dudareva, Sandra

AU - Datta, Siddhartha Sankar

PY - 2024/3

Y1 - 2024/3

N2 - Objectives: The WHO European Region set targets for the control of hepatitis B through immunization, including prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at ≤0.5% in vaccinated cohorts. The Republic of Moldova implemented universal hepatitis B vaccination since 1995. We conducted a nationwide representative serosurvey to estimate HBsAg seroprevalence in children born in 2013 to validate hepatitis B control targets. Methods: We used probability-based sampling and a two-stage cluster design. All children born in 2013 and registered in primary healthcare facilities were eligible for participation. We tested blood samples of all participants for hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc), using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Anti-HBc-positive samples were tested for HBsAg and HBsAg-positive samples confirmed, using ELISA. We obtained information on hepatitis B vaccination from vaccination cards. Results: Of 3352 sampled children, 3064 (91%) participated. Most participating children were 7 years old (n = 3030, 99%), 1426 (48%) were girls. The weighted, national seroprevalence estimate was 3.1% (95% confidence interval = 2.1-4.5) for anti-HBc and 0.21% (95% confidence interval = 0.08-0.53) for HBsAg. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the impact of hepatitis B vaccination and allowed the Republic of Moldova to validate regional hepatitis B control targets. Other countries with high vaccination coverage could use hepatitis B serosurveys and apply for validation. Sustained efforts in the Republic of Moldova will be crucial on the path to hepatitis B elimination.

AB - Objectives: The WHO European Region set targets for the control of hepatitis B through immunization, including prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at ≤0.5% in vaccinated cohorts. The Republic of Moldova implemented universal hepatitis B vaccination since 1995. We conducted a nationwide representative serosurvey to estimate HBsAg seroprevalence in children born in 2013 to validate hepatitis B control targets. Methods: We used probability-based sampling and a two-stage cluster design. All children born in 2013 and registered in primary healthcare facilities were eligible for participation. We tested blood samples of all participants for hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc), using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Anti-HBc-positive samples were tested for HBsAg and HBsAg-positive samples confirmed, using ELISA. We obtained information on hepatitis B vaccination from vaccination cards. Results: Of 3352 sampled children, 3064 (91%) participated. Most participating children were 7 years old (n = 3030, 99%), 1426 (48%) were girls. The weighted, national seroprevalence estimate was 3.1% (95% confidence interval = 2.1-4.5) for anti-HBc and 0.21% (95% confidence interval = 0.08-0.53) for HBsAg. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the impact of hepatitis B vaccination and allowed the Republic of Moldova to validate regional hepatitis B control targets. Other countries with high vaccination coverage could use hepatitis B serosurveys and apply for validation. Sustained efforts in the Republic of Moldova will be crucial on the path to hepatitis B elimination.

KW - Europe

KW - Hepatitis B

KW - Prevalence

KW - Republic of Moldova

KW - Seroepidemiologic study

KW - Vaccination

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85183621208&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003

DO - 10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.11.003

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85183621208

SN - 2772-7076

VL - 10

SP - 60

EP - 66

JO - IJID Regions

JF - IJID Regions

ER -

Evaluating the hepatitis B vaccination impact in the Republic of Moldova: A nationwide representative serosurvey of children born in 2013

Abstract

Keywords*

Field of Science*

Publication Type*

UN SDGs

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