Immunoprophylaxis Failure Against Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus in the Chinese Population

Abstract

Immunoprophylaxis failure is an extensive problem, and further studies should design and assess novel strategies for the prevention of immunoprophylaxis failure, especially for cases involving HBeAg-positive mothers and infants with cord blood that is positive for HBV DNA.

Comparing monovalent and combination hepatitis B vaccine outcomes in children delivered by mothers with chronic hepatitis B

“…Our study showed that the overall vaccine immunoprophylaxis failure rate in term infants delivered by HBsAg‐positive carrier mothers was low at 2.7%. This is comparable to other published studies . There was no significant difference in immunoprophylaxis failure rate observed in the two regimens.…”

Investigation of a Novel Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen (HBsAg) Escape Mutant Affecting Immunogenicity

“…Although there have been some reports on hepatitis B antigenicity and mutational analyses that were carried out either by site directed mutagenesis or isolated from patients, the phenotypic conformation and the antigenic properties of HBsAg remain obscure due to the continuous incidence of natural mutations [17, 19, 39]. Therefore, in order to develop novel diagnostic and vaccine strategies for hepatitis B, it will be necessary to examine the amino acid sequence of HBsAg in greater detail, since mutations in this sequence affect both the antigenicity and immunogenicity of HBsAg [28, 40–43]. …”

Protective effect of an improved immunization practice of mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis B virus and risk factors associated with immunoprophylaxis failure

“…[2,7–9] Although administration of HBIG and the hepatitis B vaccine at birth has significantly reduced HBV infection rates, 0.75% to 9.66% of vertical HBV transmissions have not been eliminated by this combined intervention strategy. [10–13] It has been suggested that providing antiviral therapy during the third trimester of pregnancy to mothers with high HBV viral loads would reduce the risk of perinatal transmission, but data regarding when and for how long this therapy should be administered are lacking. [14] …”