title: Immunogenicity of a yeast-recombinant hepatitis B vaccine in high-risk children.
abstract: Horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) from illicit drug users to their contacts, including young children, can be prevented by active immunization against HBV. Yeast-recombinant hepatitis B vaccines are now available for this purpose, but their potential efficacy in such high-risk contacts has not yet been evaluated. Therefore we gave 20 mcg of a recombinant yeast-derived hepatitis B vaccine to 38 children who were at high risk for HBV infection because they had been institutionalized in a community for drug users in which 8.7% of the occupants are carriers. After third dose of vaccine (at 0, 1, and 6 months), all children had anti-HBs responses with titers of 10 mIU/ml or more, with 81% showing responses greater than 1,000 mIU/ml. At 12 months, the percentage of anti-HBs-positive children was 100%, and the percentage of children with anti-HBs higher than 1,000 mIU/ml was 56%. None of the children developed HBV infection during follow-up. Hence the recombinant vaccine was immunogenic, with percentages of seroconversion and anti-HBs titers comparable with those attained in other categories of high-risk children with plasma-derived vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Internal Medicine, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rumi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bortolini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gringeri
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zanetti
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Mannucci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colombo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014611:Vaccination; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines