Hepatitis B vaccination urged in adults

[Guest guest]

http://www.infectiousdiseasenews.com/article/81207.aspx

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Posted March 3, 2011

Hepatitis B vaccination urged in adults

Ioannou GN. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:319-328.

Hepatitis B vaccination has resulted in a population of children and adolescents

with “very high rates of immunity and very low rates of infection;” however,

disease rates remain higher in adults, thereby demonstrating the importance of

hepatitis B vaccination in this population, according to a study published

online this week.

N. Ioannou, BMBCh, MS, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care

System, in Seattle, and colleagues looked at survey results from about 40,000

participants enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Ioannou defined chronic HBV infection as having a serum HBV surface antigen and

past exposure to hepatitis B core antigen among participants who were older than

6 years.

“Among persons aged 6 years or older, 0.27% (95% CI, 0.20-0.34) had chronic HBV

infection,” Ioannou said, adding that this ratio corresponds to about 704,000

people nationwide. About 4.6% of these survey participants had been exposed to

HBV.

He said this ratio is significantly lower than estimates of infection and

exposure in the United States that were reported before 1994, which is when

federal programs began to back universal vaccination for children.

Ioannou said HBV prevalence increased with age.

“Children aged 2 years have high rates of immunity (68.6%; CI, 64.1-73.2),” he

said, adding that adults, however, had much lower rates of immunity.

The study may have overestimated the vaccine’s effectiveness because most of the

children that were vaccinated under the universal recommendations in 1992 would

likely not have reached adulthood by the survey period’s conclusion in 2008,

Ioannou said.

Disclosure: The Veterans Affairs Research Award Program provided most of the

funding for the study.

[Guest guest]

http://www.infectiousdiseasenews.com/article/81207.aspx

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Posted March 3, 2011

Hepatitis B vaccination urged in adults

Ioannou GN. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:319-328.

Hepatitis B vaccination has resulted in a population of children and adolescents

with “very high rates of immunity and very low rates of infection;” however,

disease rates remain higher in adults, thereby demonstrating the importance of

hepatitis B vaccination in this population, according to a study published

online this week.

N. Ioannou, BMBCh, MS, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care

System, in Seattle, and colleagues looked at survey results from about 40,000

participants enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Ioannou defined chronic HBV infection as having a serum HBV surface antigen and

past exposure to hepatitis B core antigen among participants who were older than

6 years.

“Among persons aged 6 years or older, 0.27% (95% CI, 0.20-0.34) had chronic HBV

infection,” Ioannou said, adding that this ratio corresponds to about 704,000

people nationwide. About 4.6% of these survey participants had been exposed to

HBV.

He said this ratio is significantly lower than estimates of infection and

exposure in the United States that were reported before 1994, which is when

federal programs began to back universal vaccination for children.

Ioannou said HBV prevalence increased with age.

“Children aged 2 years have high rates of immunity (68.6%; CI, 64.1-73.2),” he

said, adding that adults, however, had much lower rates of immunity.

The study may have overestimated the vaccine’s effectiveness because most of the

children that were vaccinated under the universal recommendations in 1992 would

likely not have reached adulthood by the survey period’s conclusion in 2008,

Ioannou said.

Disclosure: The Veterans Affairs Research Award Program provided most of the

funding for the study.

[Guest guest]

http://www.infectiousdiseasenews.com/article/81207.aspx

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Posted March 3, 2011

Hepatitis B vaccination urged in adults

Ioannou GN. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:319-328.

Hepatitis B vaccination has resulted in a population of children and adolescents

with “very high rates of immunity and very low rates of infection;” however,

disease rates remain higher in adults, thereby demonstrating the importance of

hepatitis B vaccination in this population, according to a study published

online this week.

N. Ioannou, BMBCh, MS, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care

System, in Seattle, and colleagues looked at survey results from about 40,000

participants enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Ioannou defined chronic HBV infection as having a serum HBV surface antigen and

past exposure to hepatitis B core antigen among participants who were older than

6 years.

“Among persons aged 6 years or older, 0.27% (95% CI, 0.20-0.34) had chronic HBV

infection,” Ioannou said, adding that this ratio corresponds to about 704,000

people nationwide. About 4.6% of these survey participants had been exposed to

HBV.

He said this ratio is significantly lower than estimates of infection and

exposure in the United States that were reported before 1994, which is when

federal programs began to back universal vaccination for children.

Ioannou said HBV prevalence increased with age.

“Children aged 2 years have high rates of immunity (68.6%; CI, 64.1-73.2),” he

said, adding that adults, however, had much lower rates of immunity.

The study may have overestimated the vaccine’s effectiveness because most of the

children that were vaccinated under the universal recommendations in 1992 would

likely not have reached adulthood by the survey period’s conclusion in 2008,

Ioannou said.

Disclosure: The Veterans Affairs Research Award Program provided most of the

funding for the study.

[Guest guest]

http://www.infectiousdiseasenews.com/article/81207.aspx

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Posted March 3, 2011

Hepatitis B vaccination urged in adults

Ioannou GN. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:319-328.

Hepatitis B vaccination has resulted in a population of children and adolescents

with “very high rates of immunity and very low rates of infection;” however,

disease rates remain higher in adults, thereby demonstrating the importance of

hepatitis B vaccination in this population, according to a study published

online this week.

N. Ioannou, BMBCh, MS, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care

System, in Seattle, and colleagues looked at survey results from about 40,000

participants enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Ioannou defined chronic HBV infection as having a serum HBV surface antigen and

past exposure to hepatitis B core antigen among participants who were older than

6 years.

“Among persons aged 6 years or older, 0.27% (95% CI, 0.20-0.34) had chronic HBV

infection,” Ioannou said, adding that this ratio corresponds to about 704,000

people nationwide. About 4.6% of these survey participants had been exposed to

HBV.

He said this ratio is significantly lower than estimates of infection and

exposure in the United States that were reported before 1994, which is when

federal programs began to back universal vaccination for children.

Ioannou said HBV prevalence increased with age.

“Children aged 2 years have high rates of immunity (68.6%; CI, 64.1-73.2),” he

said, adding that adults, however, had much lower rates of immunity.

The study may have overestimated the vaccine’s effectiveness because most of the

children that were vaccinated under the universal recommendations in 1992 would

likely not have reached adulthood by the survey period’s conclusion in 2008,

Ioannou said.

Disclosure: The Veterans Affairs Research Award Program provided most of the

funding for the study.