Increases in Levels of Antibody to Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in an Immunized Population

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 933 - 937
• Main Authors: Bulkow, Lisa R., Wainwright, Robert B., McMahon, Brian J., Parkinson, Alan J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01.04.1998; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Alaska Natives; Antibodies; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Clinical Articles; Cohort Studies; Dosage; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hepatitis antigens; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B - prevention & control; Hepatitis B Antibodies - blood; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - immunology; Hepatitis B vaccines; Hepatitis B virus; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunization; Infections; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Population; Specimens; Vaccination; Viral diseases; Viral hepatitis; Human; Hepatitis B surface antigen; Immune response; Antibody; Vaccination; Hepatic disease; Surface; Infection; Antigen; Viral hepatitis B; Prevention; Immunoprophylaxis; Viral disease; Digestive diseases
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1086/513939

Hepatitis B vaccine is effective in preventing infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), but its duration of protection is unknown. To examine the effect of exposure to HBV on an immunized population, data were analyzed from a cohort of Alaska Natives who were immunized and then followed up annually for 10 years. A boost in antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) was defined as a fourfold rise in levels to ⩾20 mIU/mL that was not accompanied by the presence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen or attributable to interim vaccination. During 10 years of follow-up, 8.2% of 1,595 vaccinees had boosts in anti-HBs. Persons with boosts did not differ significantly from those without boosts in terms of age, gender, village, initial level of anti-HBs, or level of anti-HBs before the boost. These results underscore the continued exposure to HBV among vaccinees and the continued protection against disease that the vaccine provides.