Abstract
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of being exposed to epidemic viral diseases (EVDs), such as measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella-zoster. Currently, in case of the absence of written records on previous immunizations, the Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control guidelines require HCWs to have antibody titers higher than laboratory thresholds, possibly leading to over-immunization. We report our vaccination strategy and the consequent incidences of EVDs at the Osaka University Hospital between 2000 and 2016. In 2001, we initiated an annual serology check of antibody titers against EVDs and immunization for newly employed HCWs. As an additional vaccination program, all HCWs with low antibody titers were vaccinated in 2005 and 2010. Antibody titers were determined by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), with a positive range of >2.0 cut-off index. After implementing the vaccination strategy to keep the laboratory threshold, there were only sporadic cases of EVDs among HCWs. More than 99% of individuals who had positive titers in 2005 remained the positive antibody titers in 2010, indicating that a minimum interval of 5 years is enough to measure immunity. Unprotected workers can, even silently, transmit the contagious viruses to patients and coworkers, possibly resulting in a nosocomial outbreak. However, over-vaccination may yield adverse effects and financial burdens. Our observational data indicate that the laboratory cut-off index of >2.0 by EIA may provide a sufficient herd immunity to prevent EVDs among HCWs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 78-81 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Epidemic viral disease
- Healthcare workers
- Occupational exposure
- Vaccination
- Vaccine-preventable disease
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology (medical)
- Pharmacology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases
Cite this
Vaccination strategy for epidemic viral diseases in healthcare workers : Cut-off for optimal immunization. / Yoshioka, Nori; Deguchi, Matsuo; Hagiya, Hideharu; Kagita, Masanori; Tsukamoto, Hiroko; Takao, Miyuki; Tomono, Kazunori.
In: Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy, Vol. 25, No. 1, 01.2019, p. 78-81.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Vaccination strategy for epidemic viral diseases in healthcare workers
T2 - Cut-off for optimal immunization
AU - Yoshioka, Nori
AU - Deguchi, Matsuo
AU - Hagiya, Hideharu
AU - Kagita, Masanori
AU - Tsukamoto, Hiroko
AU - Takao, Miyuki
AU - Tomono, Kazunori
PY - 2019/1
Y1 - 2019/1
N2 - Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of being exposed to epidemic viral diseases (EVDs), such as measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella-zoster. Currently, in case of the absence of written records on previous immunizations, the Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control guidelines require HCWs to have antibody titers higher than laboratory thresholds, possibly leading to over-immunization. We report our vaccination strategy and the consequent incidences of EVDs at the Osaka University Hospital between 2000 and 2016. In 2001, we initiated an annual serology check of antibody titers against EVDs and immunization for newly employed HCWs. As an additional vaccination program, all HCWs with low antibody titers were vaccinated in 2005 and 2010. Antibody titers were determined by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), with a positive range of >2.0 cut-off index. After implementing the vaccination strategy to keep the laboratory threshold, there were only sporadic cases of EVDs among HCWs. More than 99% of individuals who had positive titers in 2005 remained the positive antibody titers in 2010, indicating that a minimum interval of 5 years is enough to measure immunity. Unprotected workers can, even silently, transmit the contagious viruses to patients and coworkers, possibly resulting in a nosocomial outbreak. However, over-vaccination may yield adverse effects and financial burdens. Our observational data indicate that the laboratory cut-off index of >2.0 by EIA may provide a sufficient herd immunity to prevent EVDs among HCWs.
AB - Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of being exposed to epidemic viral diseases (EVDs), such as measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella-zoster. Currently, in case of the absence of written records on previous immunizations, the Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control guidelines require HCWs to have antibody titers higher than laboratory thresholds, possibly leading to over-immunization. We report our vaccination strategy and the consequent incidences of EVDs at the Osaka University Hospital between 2000 and 2016. In 2001, we initiated an annual serology check of antibody titers against EVDs and immunization for newly employed HCWs. As an additional vaccination program, all HCWs with low antibody titers were vaccinated in 2005 and 2010. Antibody titers were determined by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), with a positive range of >2.0 cut-off index. After implementing the vaccination strategy to keep the laboratory threshold, there were only sporadic cases of EVDs among HCWs. More than 99% of individuals who had positive titers in 2005 remained the positive antibody titers in 2010, indicating that a minimum interval of 5 years is enough to measure immunity. Unprotected workers can, even silently, transmit the contagious viruses to patients and coworkers, possibly resulting in a nosocomial outbreak. However, over-vaccination may yield adverse effects and financial burdens. Our observational data indicate that the laboratory cut-off index of >2.0 by EIA may provide a sufficient herd immunity to prevent EVDs among HCWs.
KW - Epidemic viral disease
KW - Healthcare workers
KW - Occupational exposure
KW - Vaccination
KW - Vaccine-preventable disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050599944&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85050599944&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jiac.2018.07.008
DO - 10.1016/j.jiac.2018.07.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 30064948
AN - SCOPUS:85050599944
VL - 25
SP - 78
EP - 81
JO - Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy
JF - Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy
SN - 1341-321X
IS - 1
ER -