Detection of Anti-HBs, Anti-HBc and HBsAg among Pediatric Vaccinees Years after Primary Hepatitis B Immunization
A serological survey recruited 321 pediatric Hepatitis B (HB) vaccinees to: (1) determine the prevalence of anti-HBs years after HB immunization with either a 1.5 µg-dose plasma derived vaccine or a 10 µg-dose recombinant DNA vaccine, (2) determine anti-HBc seropositivity, and (3) test for HBsAg among the anti-HBc positive vaccinees. Kits employing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used. At 5-11 years after HB immunization, 70.7% were seropositive for anti-HBs, the antibody protective against HB, while 7.2% had anti-HBc, the antibody that indicates previous natural HB virus (HBV) infection. Three (or 13%) of the anti-HBc positive individuals, or 0.9 % of the study population, were HBsAg-positive or had HBV infection at the time of the sero-survey. Due to the absence of baseline HBV marker data, it was not possible to determine whether anti-HBs positivity in anti-HBc positive individuals was induced by HBV infection or by the HB vaccine, and if HBV infection in 3 of the participants occurred before or after immunization. Anti-HBs prevalence solely attributable to the vaccine was determined and found to be 71.5% (or 211/295 anti-HBc tested individuals). This is a clear and strong evidence of the effectiveness of vaccines in inducing immunity, still detectable in more than 2/3 of the vaccinees, several years after immunization. This proportion may still be an underestimate since non-detection of anti-HBs in the rest of the vaccinees does not necessarily imply the absence of protection. HB Immunization is, thus, recommended to be a continuing and priority target of the health sector.
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