Analysis of anti-HBs levels in healthcare workers over 10 years following booster vaccination for hepatitis B virus.

In this study, we analyzed anti-HBs levels in 104 Japanese healthcare workers who received three booster HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) vaccines because 80 became anti-HBs-negative at a mean of 2.4 years after the primary vaccination and 24 did not respond to primary vaccination. Of the re-vaccinees, 96% achieved a level of 10 mIU/ml or more of anti-HBs (i.e. seroprotected), 1 month after booster vaccination. Although anti-HBs levels of re-vaccinees decreased as rapidly as those of primary immunized vaccinees, at 10 years post-booster, 64% of re-vaccinees maintained anti-HBs levels at 10 mIU/ml or higher. Our results suggest that the additional three-dose protocol of booster HBsAg vaccination is beneficial in maintaining a seroprotective level of anti-HBs until new immunogenic vaccination protocols are established.