Trevisan Andrea, Frasson Clara, De Nuzzo Davide, Nicolli Annamaria, Scapellato Maria Luisa
Department of Cardiac Thoracic Vascular Sciences and Public Health, Unit of Preventive Medicine and Risk Assessment, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2020;16(2):460-464. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2019.1656483. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
Hepatitis B vaccination (three-dose series) induces long-term immunity, but it is not uncommon to find antibody levels below 10 IU/L long after vaccination. However, the majority of the subjects with low antibody levels have a prompt response to a booster dose. A population of 10,294 students at Padua University Medical School, who were subjected to hepatitis B vaccination during infancy or adolescence according to the law, was tested for the presence of anti-HBs, usually during the first year of matriculation. Among the students offered a booster dose, 1,030 were vaccinated, and the antibody titre was re-tested. The present research provides further evidence from a larger number of students (1,030) that an anti-HB level higher than 2 IU/L is predictive of a prompt response to a booster. There are also differences related to sex. The results clearly confirm that an antibody titre equal to or greater than 2 IU/L is enough to prompt a response after a booster dose, even several years after the initial vaccination cycle, and to predict effective immune protection. The length of the interval between the booster/post-booster analyses increases the probability of finding a low response to the booster; furthermore, females show a more rapid response to the booster than males. The importance for healthcare workers of measuring the antibody titre four weeks after a booster is highlighted, and the results suggest that females have a better response than males to booster vaccination.
乙肝疫苗接种（三剂次系列）可诱导长期免疫，但在接种疫苗很长时间后发现抗体水平低于10 IU/L的情况并不少见。然而，大多数抗体水平低的受试者对加强剂量有快速反应。帕多瓦大学医学院的10294名学生按照法律规定在婴儿期或青春期接种了乙肝疫苗，通常在入学的第一年检测抗-HBs的存在情况。在被提供加强剂量的学生中，1030人接种了疫苗，并重新检测了抗体滴度。本研究从更多学生（1030名）中提供了进一步的证据，即抗-HB水平高于2 IU/L可预测对加强剂量的快速反应。此外，还存在与性别相关的差异。结果清楚地证实，抗体滴度等于或大于2 IU/L足以在加强剂量后引发反应，即使在初始疫苗接种周期数年后也是如此，并可预测有效的免疫保护。加强剂量/加强剂量后分析之间的间隔时间延长会增加发现对加强剂量反应低的可能性；此外，女性对加强剂量的反应比男性更快。强调了医护人员在加强剂量后四周测量抗体滴度的重要性，结果表明女性对加强疫苗接种的反应比男性更好。
