Recent advances in communicable disease prevention: hepatitis B, pneumococcus, and H influenzae type b.

The immunization guidelines for the prevention of hepatitis B virus, pneumococcal pneumonia, and Haemophilus influenza type b, have undergone revision in recent years. The indications, efficacy, and safety of hepatitis B virus vaccine, hepatitis B immune globulin, pneumococcal vaccine, and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine are reviewed. The current recommendations for immunization from the Centers for Disease Control's Immunization Practices Advisory Committee are also included in the article. While these products have contributed to decreases in disease, the antibody responses elicited are not always adequate to provide extended protection to the populations at greatest risk of disease. By reviewing the current status and immunizing guidelines, it is hoped that the P & T Committee's task of selecting efficacious, safe, and cost-effective preparations will be made easier.