title: Hepatitis B vaccination in children: five year booster study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to demonstrate that appropriate doses of hepatitis B vaccines would be protective for at least five years in children. This would be shown by administering booster doses and measuring the response.
  
  
  METHODS
  2 micrograms intramuscular (IM) doses of Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) recombinant DNA vaccine (rDNAV) were given to 318 children who had received age appropriate doses of MSD plasma derived vaccine (PDV) five years earlier. Sera were tested for hepatitis B virus (HBV) seromarkers pre- and postbooster.
  
  
  RESULTS
  all children who had responsed to primary immunisation demonstrated an anamnestic response. The geometric mean titre (GMT) of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (antiHBs) rose from 89 to 4777 IU/L. AntiHBs was detected in 94% of vaccinees just prior to the five year booster, and 96.5% a mean of 10 days later.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  when initial vaccine seroconversion is satisfactory, protection of responders persists for at least five years, assuming that the response to vaccine boosters mimics the response to wild virus. Therefore, for population control of hepatitis B in children in endemic areas, booster doses are not required for at least five years.
authors.affiliation: Hepatitis Research Unit, Whakatane, New Zealand.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milne
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krugman
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Waldon
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hadler
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Moyes
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Pearce
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007117:Immunization, Secondary / Q000592:standards*; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines