A REDUCED DOSE APPROACH TO HEPATITIS-B VACCINATION FOR LOW-RISK NEWBORNS AND PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN

The effectiveness of a 2.5 mu g dose of the hepatitis B vaccine (B-Hepavac II) was compared with that of 5 mu g in 587 low-risk neonates and 777 preschool children of age 3-8 years. The vaccines were administered at months 0, 1 and 3, with postvaccination serology tested at months 4 and 12. The seroconversion rates of the 2.5 mu g recipients (newborn: 93.5%; preschool children: 97.4%) are comparable with the 5 mu g group (newborn: 95.7%, preschool children. 98.7%). The seroconversion rates of the newborns are, however, significantly lower in the 2.5 mu g group if positive response is taken as a titre > 10 IU l(-1) instead of >0 IU l(-1). The older children, on the other hand, achieved a higher seroconversion rate and geometric mean titre (GMT) when compared with the newborns, irrespective of the dose received.