A novel hepatitis B vaccination regimen

liver411

A novel hepatitis B vaccination regimen for adolescents: two doses 12 months apart.

Heron L, Chant K, Jalaludin B
South Western Sydney Public Health Unit, Liverpool Hospital, Locked Bag
7017, NSW 1871, Sydney, Australia

[Record supplied by publisher]


BACKGROUND: Two- and three-dose hepatitis B vaccinations for adolescents are usually administered using dosing schedules of 6 months duration. This does not suit all circumstances. A 12-month schedule would be useful in schools and settings where only annual vaccination is the most practical option.
AIM: To examine the efficacy of a 12-month dosing interval for two-dose hepatitis B vaccination of adolescents.SUBJECTS: Four hundred and fifty-eight healthy first-year high school (Year 7) students.VACCINATION REGIMEN: Engerix-B (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals) 20&mgr;g: two doses, 12 months apart.SERUM
COLLECTION: #1, same day as first vaccine dose given; #2, >1 month after second vaccine dose.RESULTS: Of the 458 children: 15 did not provide serum #1, 17 had prior vaccination, 2 had prior infection, 18 moved, 7 failed to provide serum #2, 12 withdrew (only 1 cited vaccine adverse reactions as the reason). Three hundred and eighty-seven (210 males, 177 females) aged 11.8-14.2 years (mean: 12.9+/-0.42 years) at entry completed both injections 321-381 days (mean: 359+/-10.7 days) apart and supplied serum #2, 30-57 days
(mean: 41+/-5.6 days) after the second vaccine dose.Anti-HBs responses: 379 of the 387 subjects (97.9%; 95% CI: 95.9-99.1%) achieved anti-HBs
>/=10mIU/ml (range 10-170,460mIU/ml, geometric mean concentration (GMC) 4155mIU/ml-95% CI of mean: 3381-5106mIU/ml). Sex was the only determinant of anti-HBs concentration (206 males: GMC 3073mIU/ml-95% CI: 2285-4134mIU/ml; 173 females: GMC 5944mIU/ml-95% CI: 4508-7851mIU/ml; P=0.001).CONCLUSION: A high seroprotection rate and GMC were achieved using two 20&mgr;g doses of Engerix-B administered 12 months apart. These results are similar to those achieved by others using 6-month three- and two-dose regimens in
adolescents.

PMID: 12297392