The HBV seroprevalence and immune responses to hepatitis B vaccination among college students from four universities in China

Yarong Song; Yongliang Feng; Feng Jiang; Xingyan Xu; Peijuan Yang; Minmin Liu; Lili Li; Chaobi Du; Huangyuan Li; Qiong Li; Jinge Qiao; Jing Shi; Le Yang; Tian Yao; Gongyuan Zhang; Jie Wang; Jie Li

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127408

The HBV seroprevalence and immune responses to hepatitis B vaccination among college students from four universities in China

Vaccine. 2025 Jun 24:61:127408. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127408. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yarong Song¹, Yongliang Feng², Feng Jiang³, Xingyan Xu⁴, Peijuan Yang⁵, Minmin Liu¹, Lili Li¹, Chaobi Du⁶, Huangyuan Li⁴, Qiong Li⁷, Jinge Qiao³, Jing Shi², Le Yang⁴, Tian Yao⁸, Gongyuan Zhang³, Jie Wang⁹, Jie Li¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology & Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China.
² Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
³ Department of Disease Prevention and Control, Zhengzhou University Hospital, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China.
⁵ The Student Psychological Counseling Center of the Student Affairs Department, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637000, China.
⁶ Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Medical Center of China West Normal University, Nanchong 637000, China.
⁷ Department of Disease Prevention and Health Care, Medical Center of China West Normal University, Nanchong 637000, China.
⁸ First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
⁹ Department of Microbiology & Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: wangjie2015@hsc.pku.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Department of Microbiology & Infectious Disease Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: jieli@hsc.pku.edu.cn.

PMID: 40561569
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127408

Abstract

Background: People without effective immunization are vulnerable to infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). At present, there is no appropriate hepatitis B vaccination strategy for HBV-susceptible adults. We aim to assess the long-term effect of neonatal hepatitis B immunization and HBV markers among college students, so as to explore hepatitis B vaccination strategies suitable for high-risk group.

Methods: The enrolled freshmen from four universities were initially tested for hepatitis B screening using colloidal gold test strips. Subjects with positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or negative hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) were further confirmed using Abbott reagents. HBsAg and anti-HBs double negative individuals were administered hepatitis B vaccination.

Results: Using Abbott reagents, we confirmed that among 3242 enrolled freshmen, 1604 (49.5 %) were negative for both HBsAg and anti-HBs, and 27 (0.8 %) were HBsAg-positive. Among the double negative freshmen, 1263 received hepatitis B vaccination. After the first and second dose of hepatitis B vaccine, the protective anti-HBs seroconversion rates reached 91.4 % and 98.5 %, respectively. Only one (0.1 %) freshman was still negative for anti-HBs after the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine. In addition, 96.3 % (104/108) of the fresmen who failed to achieve protective anti-HBs seroconversion after the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine had a baseline anti-HBs level < 2 mIU/mL.

Conclusion: The HBsAg prevalence among college students has been significantly reduced after the integration of hepatitis B vaccine into Expanded Program on Immunization, but the rate of seroprotective anti-HBs among these students remains low. Hepatitis B vaccination or booster dose is advised for a high-risk group who have negative anti-HBs, and two doses of hepatitis B vaccine are advised for those with anti-HBs < 2 mIU/mL.

Keywords: College students; Hepatitis B surface antibody; Hepatitis B vaccination; Hepatitis B virus.