Long-term anti-HBs antibody persistence following infant vaccination against hepatitis B and evaluation of anamnestic response

Abstract

Hepatitis B vaccine has been available worldwide since the mid-1980s. This vaccine was evaluated in a clinical trial in Thailand, conducted on subjects born to hepatitis B surface antigen positive and hepatitis B e-antigen positive mothers and vaccinated according to a 4-dose schedule at 0, 1, 2 and 12 mo of age and a single dose of hepatitis B immunoglobulin concomitantly at birth. All enrolled subjects seroconverted and were followed for 20 y to assess the persistence of antibody to the hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) (NCT00240539). At year 20, 64% of subjects had anti-HBs antibody concentrations ≥ 10 milli-international units per milli liter (mIU/ml) and 92% of subjects had detectable levels (≥ 3.3 mIU/ml) of anti-HBs antibodies. At year 20, subjects with anti-HBs antibody titer < 100 mIU/ml were offered an additional dose of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine to assess immune memory (NCT00657657). Anamnestic response to the challenge dose was observed in 96.6% of subjects with an 82-fold (13.2 to 1082.4 mIU/ml) increase in anti-HBs antibody geometric mean concentrations. This study confirms the long-term immunogenicity of the 4-dose regimen of the HBV vaccine eliciting long-term persistence of antibodies and immune memory against hepatitis B for up to at least 20 y after vaccination.

Persistence of HBsAg‐specific antibodies and immune memory two to three decades after hepatitis B vaccination in adults

“…In all of these studies, as in our current study, the majority of participants mounted an anamnestic response to a hepatitis B challenge, including those whose anti‐HBs levels had declined below 10 mIU/mL, indicating that protection lasts even after waning of anti‐HBs antibodies …”

High prevalence of anti‐hepatitis B core antigen in hepatitis B virus–vaccinated Chinese blood donors suggests insufficient protection but little threat to the blood supply

“…Examining the 2028 donors 18 to 25 years tested for anti‐HBs and anti‐HBc, the relatively large proportion of vaccinated donors without detectable anti‐HBs (31.8%; Table ) is consistent with the 39.3% found in Northern China, 37.3% Guangxi province by age 15, 41.5% in 18‐ to 21‐year‐old Taiwanese students, and 25% found in The Gambia . In Thailand, between age 15 and 20, the percentage of seronegative vaccinees ranged between 33.3 and 36.4% . Figure shows no significant changes of antibody‐negative donors between age 18 and 25 but a relatively large range (20.9 and 38.9%) year by year.…”

Persistence of immunity 18–19 years after vaccination against hepatitis B in 2 cohorts of vaccinees primed as infants or as adolescents in Italy

“…Thus, despite the loss of antibody many vaccinated individuals maintain active immune memory and show a strong anamnestic response following a booster dose of vaccine (the so-called boostability) given up to 20-25 y. [8][9][10][11][12] However other studies, mainly conducted in Asiatic countries, indicate that immune memory starts to wane during the second decade after vaccination still arising the question whether there is a need of a booster dose to maintain long-term immunity. 13,14 The aim of this study was to assess the duration of anti-HBs antibody and immune memory in a cohort of teenagers vaccinated as infants and in a cohort of young adults vaccinated as adolescents, 18-19 y earlier.…”