Background & Aim:The aim of this study was to compare the long‐term efficacy of infant recombinant yeast hepatitis B vaccine (Recombinant group) and infant plasma‐derived one (Plasma group) in Taiwanese freshers.
Methods:Recruited were a total of 38 377 freshmen who underwent university entrance health examinations from 2003 to 2015. Subjects were assigned into two groups—plasma type and recombinant type, according to the national neonatal hepatitis B immunization program. The seroprevalences of hepatitis B surface antigen, antibody against hepatitis B surface antigen, and antibody against hepatitis B core antigen in each group and gender were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to compare the efficacy of two groups.
Results:The HBsAg‐positive rates in the plasma group and recombinant group were 1.5% and 0.3% respectively. The anti‐HBs positive rates were 43.6% and 30.9%. The hepatitis B viral natural infection rates were 3.6% and 1.3%. Taking those who were born in July 1986‐April 1992 as baseline group after adjustment for gender and age at hepatitis B markers checkup time, the efficacy of recombinant group in decreasing HBsAg positive rate, and decreasing hepatitis B virus natural infection rate was 71.0% (95% C.I.: 59.0‐79.0%, P<.001) and 65.0% (95% C.I. 58.0‐71.0%, P<.001) respectively. On the contrary, the seroprevalence of anti‐HBs positive rate in recombinant group was 39.0% (95% C.I.: 36.0‐42.0%, P<.001) lower than that of plasma group. (P<.001).
Conclusion:Higher disappearance rate of anti‐HBs was noted in recombinant group than in plasma group when the subjects reached their youth and young adulthood in Taiwan.