Effects of vertical HIV infection on the persistence of anti-HBs after a schedule of three doses of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine.

Anti-HBs persistence following HBV vaccination among HIV-positive children has never been systematically studied in central Brazil. An historical cohort study was performed aiming to evaluate persistence of anti-HBs in HIV-positive children in comparison with an HIV-negative child group. Fifty-eight HIV-positive and 116 HIV-negative individuals were enrolled. Birth weight, breast-feeding duration, and the time elapsed since the last hepatitis B vaccine doses were similar between the groups. Fourteen (24%) out of 58 HIV-positive participants were anti-HBs positive and 101 (87%) out of 116 were HIV-negative (p<0.001). Among anti-HBs-positive individuals, the geometric mean titres were 118 and 298 mIU/mL, respectively to HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups (p=0.04). These results disclose a worrying picture regarding the failure of standard HBV vaccination among Brazilian HIV-infected children.