Hepatitis A Vaccine versus Immune Globulin for Postexposure Prophylaxis

Abstract

Low rates of hepatitis A in both groups indicate that hepatitis A vaccine and immune globulin provided good protection after exposure. Although the study's prespecified criterion for noninferiority was met, the slightly higher rates of hepatitis A among vaccine recipients may indicate a true modest difference in efficacy and might be clinically meaningful in some settings. Vaccine has other advantages, including long-term protection, and it may be a reasonable alternative to immune globulin for postexposure prophylaxis in many situations. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00139139 [ClinicalTrials.gov].).

An immunoenzymatic assay for the diagnosis of hepatitis A utilising immunoglobulin Y

“…Purified human anti-HAV immunoglobulin G (IgG) has been used as the key component of diagnostic assays and is recom- mended for as post-exposure prophylaxis. However, the production of this immunoglobulin has been limited and is expensive (Victor et al 2007). …”

Viral Hepatitis A in 108 Adult Patients During an Eight-Year Observation in a Single Center in Poland

“…Considering Poland's potential for hepatitis A outbreaks, knowledge of active post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in cases of possible secondary HAV infection and its good efficacy should be propagated among health-care personnel. Although the efficacy of vaccine-based hepatitis A PEP has been proved only for adults under the age of 40-50 years [12,13], in the current authors' our opinion, active PEP would also be a reasonable choice for older people in contact with acute HAV infection, considering the unavailability of hepatitis A immunoglobulin in Poland [14].…”

“…Among the 2009-2010 Gostyń County outbreak patients hospitalized at the JSMMH Department of Infectious Diseases, this proportion was even higher. It is worth noting that an important percentage of secondary cases can be effectively prevented with post-exposure hepatitis A vaccine prophylaxis [12]. Unfortunately, despite information about this possibility having been provided to some patients, none of them chose to have the vaccine.…”

Protective effect of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine against the outbreak of hepatitis A in an open rural community

“…In contrast, the antibody induction period of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine is as short as 2 wk [8] , and the seroconversion reaches a peak one month after delivery [9] . It is generally recognized that inactivated hepatitis A vaccine could provide good protection against hepatitis A after exposure to HAV [10,11] . Until now, the protective efficacy of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine has not been documented as an emergency vaccination in Chinese population.…”