Özet:

Background: This study was conducted to investigate serum Anti-Hbs antibody levels and hepatitis B vaccination status in children aged 5-18 years who applied to a family medicine outpatient clinic. Materials and Methods: The study is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Eighty-four children between the ages of 5 and 18 who applied to a Family Health Center for periodic examinations and school health screenings were included in the study. The parents of the children included in the study were asked to fill in a short form containing the vaccination status of the child, the presence of chronic illness, education and occupation information of the parents. With these answers, the relationship between the children's gender, age, and Anti-Hbs level was questioned. Anti-HBs level measured with Micro-ELISA method in Düzce Public Health Laboratory was accepted as seropositive. Results: 53.6% (n=45) of the children included in our study were male and 46.4% (n=39) were female. The mean age of the children in our study was found to be 12.13 ± 2.73. No significant difference was found between anti-HBs seropositivity rates according to gender (p=0.627). However, age of the children not being vaccinated was found to be significantly higher than the vaccinated children (p<0.001). Anti-HBs were detected as seronegative in 29 (46.8%) of 62 children whose history was vaccinated. Conclusion: The most important finding of our study is that the age was found to be significantly higher in unvaccinated children. Although this suggest that immunization services are increasingly effective in our country, investigation of immunity or carrier status against to hepatitis B infection in older children will be an important step for individual and public health. Key Words: Immunization, Anti- HBs, child, Hepatitis-B