title: Early immunisation with hepatitis B vaccine: a five-year study.
abstract: We evaluated the response to the recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine using an accelerated schedule versus the traditional schedule by studying the immunologic memory induced in 200 children with HBs-Ag negative mothers. At seroconversion, the traditional schedule presented a higher percentage of children with serum HBs-Ag concentrations over 100 mIU/ml than the accelerated schedule. After five years this difference was no longer statistically significant and children who presented anti-HBsAg concentrations below 10 mUI/ml received an additional booster dose which stimulated the antibody concentration to exceed 100 mIU/ml in all cases. Recombinant HBV vaccine induced better long term immunologic memory when it was administered earlier.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Intensive Care, IRCCS San Matteo, Viale della Libertà, 49-27100, Pavia, Italy. pistorioa@smatteo.pv.it
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Belloni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pistorio
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tinelli
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Komakec
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chirico
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rovelli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gulminetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comolli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Orsolini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rondini
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007223:Infant; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines