Serum sickness and hepatitis B vaccine including review of the literature.

HB vaccine is one of the most widely administered vaccines in the world. Its efficacy approaches 95 per cent. The majority of adverse reactions are generally mild, although there have been individual case reports of serious reactions since the vaccine has become commercially available. Here, a patient with a serum sickness-like reaction after her second HB immunization is reported. Review of the literature for reports of serious adverse reactions to the vaccine was also carried out.