Se. Wilkinson et al., ACCELERATED SCHEDULE OF HEPATITIS-B VACCINATION IN HIGH-RISK YOUTH, Journal of paediatrics and child health, 32(1), 1996, pp. 60-62
Objective: To perform a feasibility and immunogenicity study of an acc
elerated schedule of hepatitis B immunization for high-risk youth. Met
hodology: High-risk adolescents attending a youth health centre and ne
arby youth refuges were immunized with Engerix-B recombinant vaccine,
20 mu g intramuscularly, at 0, 2 and 6 weeks. Serology was performed p
rior to immunization and 3 months after the third dose. Results: Forty
-two subjects (27 female) aged 13-20 years entered the study. Two (4.8
%), already hepatitis B virus (HBV) seropositive, were excluded. Thirt
y-six of 40 subjects had one or more risk factors for HBV. Participant
s were often elusive, needing multiple attempts to establish contact.
Twenty (50%) of the 40 completed three immunizations and all 14 studie
d developed anti-hepatitis B surface titres of >100mIU/mL (geometric m
ean titre 630 mIU/mL, 95% confidence intervals 309-1290). Conclusion:
High-risk youth can be immunized against hepatitis B successfully usin
g an accelerated schedule, but compliance is difficult.