Analysis of anti-HBs levels in healthcare workers over 10 years following booster vaccination for hepatitis B virus.
In this study, we analyzed anti-HBs levels in 104 Japanese healthcare workers who received three booster HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) vaccines because 80 became anti-HBs-negative at a mean of 2.4 years after the primary vaccination and 24 did not respond to primary vaccination. Of the re-vaccinees, 96% achieved a level of 10 mIU/ml or more of anti-HBs (i.e. seroprotected), 1 month after booster vaccination. Although anti-HBs levels of re-vaccinees decreased as rapidly as those of primary immunized vaccinees, at 10 years post-booster, 64% of re-vaccinees maintained anti-HBs levels at 10 mIU/ml or higher. Our results suggest that the additional three-dose protocol of booster HBsAg vaccination is beneficial in maintaining a seroprotective level of anti-HBs until new immunogenic vaccination protocols are established.
Nakao
Kazuhiko
K
Health Research Center, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan. kazuhiko@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Hamasaki
Keisuke
K
Wakihama
Naoko
N
Maeda
Mayumi
M
Ohtsubo
Noriko
N
Sagiike
Tomiko
T
Ichikawa
Tatsuki
T
Ishikawa
Hiroki
H
Eguchi
Katsumi
K
Ishii
Nobuko
N
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic