title: Vaccination against hepatitis A: comparison of different short-term immunization schedules.
abstract: A total of 114 healthy young adults were immunized with hepatitis A vaccine using different vaccination schedules. Individuals received either a single dose (group 1), two doses given simultaneously (group 2), two doses at days 0 and 14 (group 3) or at days 0 and 28 (group 4), or three doses at days 0, 7 and 21 (group 5). Two weeks after a single dose, seroconversion rates between 77 and 85% were achieved (groups 1, 3, 4). All individuals immunized with two doses within two weeks (groups 2, 3, 5) had antibodies to hepatitis A vaccine (anti-HAV positive) by week 3; these participants also showed clearly higher mean anti-HAV values (geometric mean titres, GMTs) at this time than those individuals vaccinated only once. GMTs at week 8 were 560 IU/l in group 5, 236, 339 and 428 IU/l in groups 2-4 and 102 IU/l in group 1. Of participants with anti-HAV at week 8, 82 were again tested 4 months later; all were still seropositive. Ten individuals were tested during the first three weeks at 3-4 day intervals for anti-HAV immunoglobulin M (IgM); specific IgM responses were not detectable before day 10 but were present in eight of 10 vaccinees by day 14.
authors.affiliation: Max von Pettenkofer Institute for Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jilg
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bittner
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clemens
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schätzl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: André
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deinhardt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D006507:Hepatovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D014611:Vaccination; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines