HEPATITIS B IMMUNIZATION IN THE MATERNITY WARD OF THE UNIVERSITY CLINIC FOR GYNECOLOGY AND OBSTETRICS IN R. N. MACEDONIA

Abstract

Introduction: The beginning of the fight against infectious diseases is marked by receiving the first dose of Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine in the maternity ward. It is a recombinant viral vaccine that stimulates active immunity. Unfortunately, on a global level, there is a decline in vaccination coverage of children for all vaccines. Our study aims to assess the coverage of the first dose of vaccine against the HepB among newborns in our hospital during 2023. Material and Methods: This is a retrospective study and it included data for HepB vaccination from all newborns born at the University Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics from 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2023. Results: There were 3,917 live births in total in our maternity hospital in the year 2023. 3,235 (82.6%) of the newborns were vaccinated against the HepB virus, while 682 (17.4%) of the newborns remained unvaccinated. In the first 24 hours after the birth and the first 7 days, 2,912 and 323 newborns were vaccinated respectively. Out of the 682 unvaccinated, 30 have been transferred to another health facility, 8 were unvaccinated due to the written consent from the parents for postponing vaccination, and 644 newborns remained to be vaccinated in the vaccination dispensary, where individual calendars for immunization would be created. Conclusion: In order not to lose the battle with infectious diseases at a time of intensive technical- technological development, it is necessary to be more active and to continuously participate in the process of immunization at all levels of the health care. Immunization of newborns with HepB vaccine is an effective measure to control HepB infection and prevent liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.