Waning immunity and booster responses in nursing and medical technology students who had received plasma-derived or recombinant hepatitis B vaccine during infancy

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http://www.ajicjournal.org/article/PIIS0196655310008941/abstract?rss=yes

AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control

Volume 39, Issue 5 , Pages 408-414, June 2011.

Waning immunity and booster responses in nursing and medical technology students

who had received plasma-derived or recombinant hepatitis B vaccine during

infancy

Ching-Chiang Lin, MS

, Chun-Yuh Yang, PhD

, Ching-Tang Shih, MD

, Bai-Hsiun Chen, MD

, Yeou-Lih Huang, PhD

ABSTRACT

Background

The national hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination program was launched in Taiwan

in 1984. After November 1992, a recombinant HBV vaccine replaced the

plasma-derived HBV vaccine.

Methods

A total of 1,812 nursing and medical technology freshman students was tested to

evaluate their waning immunity toward hepatitis B. In the 2007 (2008) academic

year, 438 (382) students testing nonprotective antibodies received 3 (1) booster

doses of HBV vaccine according to suggestions from Taiwan’s Center for Disease

Control (CDC).

Results

The seroprevalences of hepatitis B surface antigen (+) were 0.8% and 0.7% in the

plasma-derived and recombinant group, respectively; for antibody to hepatitis B

surface antigen (anti-HBs) (+), they were 43.2% and 33.3% (P < .001),

respectively. In the 2007 freshman group, 99.1% of the students previously

vaccinated with plasma-derived HBV vaccine exhibited anti-HBs seroconversion. In

the 2008 freshman group, the booster dose induced anti-HBs seroconversions of

92.1% and 95.9% in the students who had received the plasma-derived and

recombinant HBV vaccine, respectively (P = .370).

Conclusion

Most students exhibited signs of immune memory after receiving the booster,

regardless of having received plasma-derived or recombinant HBV. Only a small

number of vaccinees lost their immune memory after 16 years, suggesting that

some students might benefit from boosting before proceeding to clinical

practice.