Comparative evaluation of the immunogenicity of yeast‐derived (recombinant) and plasma‐derived hepatitis B vaccine in infants

Abstract

The immunogenicity of plasma‐derived (HB Vax, MSD) and recombinant hepatitis B virus (Engerix B, SKF) vaccines was evaluated in infants born to hepatitis B virus carrier mothers. The vaccination was carried out at 1 day, 1 month, and 6 months of age using 10 μg of the vaccine given intramuscularly. A total of 83/88 (94.3%) and 74/79 (93.6%) of the infants receiving the plasma‐derived vaccine and yeast‐derived vaccine showed antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti‐HBs). None of the maternal factors studied apart from the HBeAg positivity corellated with vaccine failure. The yeast‐derived vaccine gives marginally lower antibody titre than the plasma‐derived vaccine. The group‐specific anti‐“a” antibody was less than 10% of the total anti‐HBsAg titre. It was observed that the vaccine alone without prior administration of hepatitis B immunoglobulin is effective in perinatal infection.