[Vaccination against hepatitis B in childhood as possible means of infection control].

A follow-up of 21 months was conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of vaccination against Hepatitis B Virus in a group of 54 children (age 2-14) belonging to family cluster characterized by the presence of HBsAg healthy carriers. HB-VAX, plasma-derived, and Engerix B, by a recombinant DNA technique, were both employed and administered with the following schedule: three doses of 0, 1 and 6 months. Out of 54 subjects, 48 completed the follow-up. These children all presented a good immune response as assessed at 1 and 12 months after the last administration. The results obtained show that this vaccination, free from side effects, is the most efficacious and safest tool to control the spread of Hepatitis B Virus infection and its complications at short and long term, especially when carried out on a large scale.