Hepatitis B vaccine in infants from an endemic area: Long‐term anti‐HBs persistence and revaccination

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Abstract
Persistence of anti‐HBs in 156 Senegalese infants immunized with hepatitis B vaccine was studied for periods ranging from 2 to 6 years after booster dose administration. Six years after the booster dose, 90.4% of the infants had detectable anti‐HBs antibodies, with 78.1% having titers higher than 10 mlU/ml. The geometric mean titer was 60 mlU/ml. Females showed higher anti‐HBs values than males. In a group of 11 infants who received no booster dose, anti‐HBs antibodies were detectable 7 years after the first dose. However, the geometric mean titer was lower (26 mlU/ml).Revaccination (56 infants) led to an increase of the geometric mean titer to 469 mlU/ml 2 months later. These results show that a booster injection every 5‐6 years should provide adequate protective anti‐HBs levels in infants.