Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Virol. Jun 25, 2026; 15(2): 118992
Published online Jun 25, 2026. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i2.118992
Published online Jun 25, 2026. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i2.118992
Serological evidence of hepatitis B virus exposure and vaccination coverage trends in health sciences students in Albania
Jerina Jaho, Scientific Research Center for Public Health, Faculty of Health University, University of Vlore “Ismail Qemali”, Vlore 9400, Albania
Luçiano Balilaj, Department of Health Care, Faculty of Health, University “Ismail Qemali” Vlore, Albania, Vlore 9400, Albania
Ani Bulla, Regional Hospital of Vlore, Vlore 9400, Albania
Ylenia Capraro, Leonard Lamfu, Leonardo Baiocchi, Department of Hepatology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome 00133, Lazio, Italy
Author contributions: Jaho J acquired data, drafted the manuscript, and performed critical revision; Balilaj L designed the study proposal, acquired data, drafted and corrected the manuscript, and performed critical revision; Bulla A, Capraro Y, and Lamfu L acquired data and performed critical revision; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: English manuscripts are routinely screened in my institution (University of Rome Tor Vergata) with the Writefull platform (Writefull.com) since we have an institutional subscription with full access to the complete AI software package for language editing and rephrasing.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of University of Vlore Faculty of Health, approval No. 80/1.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to questionnaire completion; separate written consent was obtained for venous blood sampling.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: De-identified dataset and statistical code are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Leonardo Baiocchi, MD, PhD, Professor, Senior Scientist, Department of Hepatology, University of Tor Vergata, No. 81 Viale Oxford, Rome 00133, Lazio, Italy.
Received: January 23, 2026
Revised: February 9, 2026
Accepted: April 7, 2026
Published online: June 25, 2026
Processing time: 149 Days and 22.8 Hours
Revised: February 9, 2026
Accepted: April 7, 2026
Published online: June 25, 2026
Processing time: 149 Days and 22.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In Albanian health sciences students, objective serology showed high overall hepatitis B seroprotection, but 1 in 7 lacked protective anti-hepatitis B surface antibody titers and reported occupational exposures. Pre-placement clearance should combine documented vaccination, mandatory anti-hepatitis B surface antibody testing, and structured catch-up/booster pathways with non-punitive exposure reporting.