article · BMC Public Health
A study conducted in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, evaluated and compared hepatitis B virus immunity between 220 healthcare workers and 220 beauty service professionals. Immunity, defined by specific antibody thresholds, was significantly higher among healthcare staff at 38.6 percent compared to 14.1 percent among beauty workers. Healthcare workers acquired their protection primarily through vaccination, while beauty service professionals mostly acquired immunity naturally following prior virus exposure. Older age correlated with increased odds of overall immunity. Within the healthcare sector, nurses displayed lower odds of protection. For beauty service professionals, lower immunity was strongly associated with being male, having a low monthly income, and demonstrating poor preventive practices. These findings highlight sharp disparities in protective coverage across formal and informal occupational environments.
Both healthcare and beauty service jobs involve potential occupational contact with hepatitis B, but protection levels differ widely. Revealing that beauty workers rely mainly on natural infection rather than vaccination exposes a public health vulnerability. Addressing these gaps helps target workplace safety programmes, policy guidelines, and vaccination campaigns to prevent occupational virus transmission in the informal sector.
The findings point to direct applications in occupational health programmes, commercial vaccination campaigns, and targeted infection control training for the informal beauty sector. Public health agencies, private clinic networks, and workplace safety providers could deploy these insights to structure tailored screening and immunisation packages. The work represents applied epidemiological research that is ready to inform policy and service delivery directly without requiring new product development.
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Healthcare workers and beauty service professionals are occupationally exposed to hepatitis B virus (HBV), but comparative evidence on serologically confirmed hepatitis B immunity and its determinants remains limited in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This study assessed and compared the prevalence of hepatitis B immunity and its determinants among both at-risk occupational groups in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, between August 2024 and February 2025 among 440 participants, comprising 220 healthcare workers and 220 beauty service professionals selected using multistage sampling. Data were collected using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and serological analysis. HBV serological markers were screened using the OnSite HBV-5 Rapid Test, and anti-HBs was quantified using BioELISA anti-HBs ELISA. Hepatitis B immunity was defined as anti-HBs ≥ 10 mIU/mL. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests, and multivariable logistic regression, with statistical significance set at p ≤ 0.05. The prevalence of hepatitis B immunity was significantly higher among healthcare workers than beauty service professionals (85/220 [38.6%] vs. 31/220 [14.1%], p < 0.0001). Immunity among healthcare workers was predominantly vaccine-induced, whereas naturally acquired immunity following previous HBV exposure was more common among beauty service professionals. In the pooled analysis, increasing age was associated with higher odds of immunity (aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.12; p = 0.0128), while beauty service professionals had lower odds of immunity (aOR 0.33, 95% CI 0.13–0.79; p = 0.0143). Among healthcare workers, nurses had lower odds of immunity (aOR 0.40, 95% CI 0.17–0.94; p = 0.0377). Among beauty service professionals, male sex (aOR 0.20, 95% CI 0.04–0.83; p = 0.0345), monthly income ≤₦85,000 (aOR 0.26, 95% CI 0.09–0.75; p = 0.0114), and poor HBV preventive practice (aOR 0.16, 95% CI 0.06–0.40; p < 0.0001) were independently associated with lower odds of immunity. Hepatitis B immunity was substantially higher among healthcare workers than beauty service professionals. The low immunity among beauty service professionals highlights the need for targeted HBV vaccination, vaccine-dose completion, post-vaccination anti-HBs testing, and strengthened infection prevention interventions within the informal beauty sector.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-29182-3
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