Need to take special care of non-responders to hepatitis B vaccination among health-care workers, students and chronic patients

Both our research and that published by Sticchi et al. on immunological memory against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in health-care workers (HCWs) vaccinated as infants or adolescents confirm that in those testing negative after the primary course, one additional (fourth) booster dose is able to elicit an...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Angela Bechini, Paolo Bonanni, Maddalena Grazzini, Diana Paolini, Giulio Arcangeli, Nicola Mucci, Costanza Bini, Emilia Tiscione, Beatrice Zanella, Sara Boccalini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021-02-01
Series:Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2020.1810495
Description
Summary:Both our research and that published by Sticchi et al. on immunological memory against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in health-care workers (HCWs) vaccinated as infants or adolescents confirm that in those testing negative after the primary course, one additional (fourth) booster dose is able to elicit an anti-HBs response in >85% subjects. The fifth and the sixth doses further contribute substantially to a high overall response rate. The rate of subjects showing an anamnestic response after the booster dose was almost six-fold higher in HCWs compared to chronic patients. Since universal vaccination in Italy resulted in a significant decrease in HBV infections, special attention and testing should be addressed to those affected by chronic diseases.
ISSN:2164-5515
2164-554X