INTRADERMAL ADMINISTRATION OF VIRAL VACCINES

Intradermal administration maybe useful in lowering the cost of vaccin ation against hepatitis B significantly, and may also be helpful for t he rapid induction of antibodies, reversing non-responsiveness, improv ing postexposure prophylaxis and immunising immunocompromised people. In addition, delayed type hypersensitivity skin reaction to the vaccin e could serve as a useful marker for the acquisition of T helper type 1 immunoreactivity in vivo. However, there are some disadvantages when using intradermal vaccinations, including the requirement for skilful administration, the absence of approval from licensing authorities, t he development of local skin reactions and a lower antibody response w hen 1/10 of the standard vaccine dose is used. This requires that appr opriate vaccination regimens, including the correct vaccine dosage, an d vaccination schedule are followed. In the future, a similar vaccinat ion strategy might also be applied for the prevention and control of o ther infectious diseases. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.