Persistence of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen among vaccinated children in a low hepatitis B virus endemic area

Abstract

Children vaccinated against HBV during infancy may show low levels of antibody during adolescence. Our data suggest that a booster dose of vaccine may be required in low HBV endemic areas.

Serological and molecular epidemiological outcomes after two decades of universal infant hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination in Nunavut, Canada

“…Previous studies have shown that rate of antibody decay is independent of vaccine type or brand, protocol, or gender [116][117]. However, this may not be the case when comparing between endemic, high-risk and low-risk, non-endemic regions.…”

“…10) [117][118][119][120]. By the time individuals in these regions reach 10 years old, only 15-20% of the population retain protective anti-HBs levels.…”

“…The study is heavily weighted in female to male participants (64.2% to 35.8%), which is understandable as the female population generally visits health care facilities more often. And although the preventative vaccine study should not be affected by an imbalance of female to male representatives, as all vaccine recipients are equally protected, having a more representative sample population of Nunavut would have been ideal [117]. The lack of participants aged 0 to 19 years old is also most likely due to how samples were collected, as younger individuals will not visit health clinics as often to have blood drawn as an older cohort.…”

Serum Level of Anti-Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Among Students in Guilan, Iran

“…This is especially observed in adolescence vaccinated against HBV in the neonatal period (2), which must therefore be monitored for antiHBs titers.…”

“…The prevalence of HBV carriers shown varies ranging in different parts of the world from less than 1% to up 20% (2). The HBV chronic carriers' rate among Iranian reported up to 5% with varying ranges in different provinces (1).…”