title: Immune persistence after hepatitis B vaccination in infancy - Fact or fancy?
abstract: The hepatitis B vaccine has been introduced for more than 3 decades. In Hong Kong, excellent vaccine coverage through an efficient public health care system, together with supplemental programmes and easy availability of the vaccine, meant that most young pregnant women, and university students at entrance, should have been protected. Yet significant correlations in the prevalence of HBV infection with age were found in these groups of subjects, increasing from low to high endemicity rates from late teenage to the early twenties. This can only be attributed to vaccine failure, and there is cumulating evidence that several factors are involved, including the failure to respond to a primary series of hepatitis B vaccination in infancy, the waning of antibody titer with age, and loss of anamnestic response in a significant portion of the vaccinees. The duration of protection conferred by hepatitis B vaccination in infancy should be re-examined and remedial measures undertaken if its long term protection is found to be insufficient. Otherwise, the efforts to control HBV infection, especially in high endemicity regions, with universal vaccination in infancy would be rendered futile.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology , The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital , Shatin , Hong Kong SAR , PRC.
authors.forename: Terence T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology*; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D000071497:Immunogenicity, Vaccine; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013997:Time Factors; D014611:Vaccination; D064166:Vaccine Potency; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines
keywords: adolescents; age; anamnestic response; hepatitis B vaccination; hepatitis B virus infection; pregnant women; vaccine non-responder; waning immunity
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