All issues > Volume 41(4); 1998

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1998;41(4):451-455. Published online April 15, 1998.

Effect of Simultaneous Administration of Hepatitis B Vaccine with DPT and Oral Polio Vaccine

Hyo Geun HG Ju¹, Young Youn YY Choi¹, Jae Sook JS Ma¹, Tai Ju TJ Hwang¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Chonnam University Hospital, Kwangju, Korea

Correspondence Hyo Geun HG Ju ,Email: 1

Abstract

Purpose
: The universal vaccination against hepatitis B during early infancy is the only effective way to control hepatitis B infection in highly endemic areas in Korea. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of simultaneous hepatitis B vaccination with DPT and oral polio at 2, 4, 6 months of age in babies of HBs antigen negative mothers.
Methods
: One hundred and eighty-one infants who were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit(NICU), Chonnam University Hospital from August, 1994 to December, 1995 were enrolled in this study. Infants received Hepavax-B 0.5ml(10μg) at contralateral thigh intramuscularly, simultaneously with DPT vaccination. Antibody was assessed by MEIA(microparticle enzyme immunoassay) at seven to nine months of age.
Results
: The seroconversion rate of Hepatitis B after vaccination was 98.3%. There were no significant differences in positive rate of antibody according to gestational age, birth weight and sex. Seroconversion rate to hepatitis B in twins was lower than in singlets. Twenty-two infants among 23 infants, who were able to assess antibody titer, showed effective antibody titer, above 100mIU/ml.
Conclusion
: The results suggest that the simultaneous administration of hepatitis B vaccine with DPT/TOPV is very effective and simplifies schedule. Moreover, this schedule will improve the compliance of vaccination.

Keywords :Simultaneous hepatitis B vaccination, Seroconversion rate