title: Hepatitis vaccines: recent advances.
abstract: Despite the availability of hepatitis A vaccines that might provide protection for decades, hepatitis B vaccines that provides protection for at least 15 years and the recent introduction of a combined hepatitis A and B vaccine, these infections continue to spread in both the developed and developing world. Hepatitis A vaccine coverage has been limited to high-risk groups: such a selective immunisation policy is unlikely to have a major impact. If adequate immunogenicity in infants is confirmed, dosing schedules can be improved and the costs of vaccination reduced, universal paediatric immunisation with combined hepatitis A and B products is likely to result in the eventual eradication of these infections. In the interim, novel hepatitis A vaccines are being investigated and additional studies on hepatitis A vaccine immunogenicity in infants are in progress. Worldwide use of hepatitis B vaccines for the newborn, young children and high-risk groups should control this infection and obviate the need for a vaccine against hepatitis D. Newer hepatitis B vaccines that may reduce the likelihood of non-responsiveness and have immunotherapeutic value are under study. A recombinant hepatitis E vaccine for use in endemic regions is currently in clinical trials. The development of an effective hepatitis C vaccine has been agonisingly slow and many impediments have been recognised. These include the lack of a susceptible small animal, a high degree of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genomic diversity and failure to produce high quantities of HCV in tissue culture. The development of a novel HCV replicon system may be a major breakthrough. Nonetheless, it may still be exceedingly difficult to produce a vaccine that uniformly provides sterilising immunity; the possibility of developing a hepatitis C vaccine that can prevent chronic infection is an exciting concept that requires further investigation. Advances in recombinant technology, the use of novel genetic (DNA-based) vaccines, expression of hepatitis antigens in plants and improved adjuvants also hold considerable promise.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA. ray.koff@roche.com
authors.forename: Raymond S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Koff
mesh_terms: D016678:Genome; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003699:Hepatitis D / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D014611:Vaccination / Q000639:trends*; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017778:Vaccines, Combined / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines; D017778:Vaccines, Combined; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic