Is hepatitis B infection possible despite being vaccinated against it?
Patient: hi..im a nurse and i was pricked by a needle from a hepa b infected patient last february 2016...i was scared coz i know that hepa b is a life threatening disease..my senior staff told me to be tested with anti hBs 24 hours after the incident..so i followed them and my result was more than 1000...because  i was vaccinated last 2012 with hepa b vaccine during my college days..am i safe now? Or do i need to be vaccinated again? Thankyou Doctor: Hello and welcome to HCM.Thanks for putting up your query.Vaccination against Hep B in health care workers as prophylaxis is at 0th,1st and 6th month.Thereafter booster is given after every 5 years.If there is incidence of needle prick injury,I recommend following--Washing the area with soap and water.Donot squeeze the wound.-Testing blood for serum anti-Hbs titres level to test for efficiency of vaccination.If levels are more than cut off of 10 mIU/ml,there is less chance you will get infection.-If levels are less than cut off,passive immunization with hep B immunoglobulin is recommended as early as possible.Also hep B vaccine primary 3 doses needs to be completed .-Testing for HbsAg levels after 3 months of exposure.-Most of the needle prick injuries are caused while recapping the needle after use.Avoid recapping the needle.Directly put needle in metal shreddder or container containing hypochrolite solution.Hope this information helps.Thanks and regards.