Hepatitis B Birth Dose for Newborns
Summary
With 2.5% prevalence in general population, Pakistan is an intermediate endemicity country for hepatitis B. However, wide disparity exists across the country as disease prevalence in general population soars as high as 14% in hyper endemic areas. This hyper endemicity increases the risk of acquiring infection via vertical and horizontal routes of disease transmission. National immunization schedule in Pakistan administers the first vaccine against hepatitis B at 6th week after infant birth. Owing to this 6 week interlude the existing immunization schedule may not provide adequate protection to a newborn against the disease. A monovalent hepatitis B vaccination shot, administered within 12 hours of birth, is the preferred strategy for disease control in hyper endemic areas. The National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups around the world are expected to use rigorous scientific evidence and make changes in the immunization schedule and vaccine dosage, responding to the evolving epidemiology of childhood diseases. Such research on local evidence for hepatitis B vaccine in Pakistan is not available and our research fills this gap by This research studied the hepatitis B vaccine response, in two cohorts of healthy infants. An open labeled, randomized controlled, non-inferiority, vaccine trial methodology was used. Margin of non non-inferiority (Δ) was set at 5%. The trial administered hepatitis B birth dose as an intervention and vaccination done under the national immunization schedule was taken as standard of care.
Timeline
- Start
- 2015-03-15
- Primary completion
- 2015-11-30
- Completion
- 2016-06-30
Drugs
| Evaluation | Drug | Modality | Dose | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Engerix | Vaccine | 10 ug | Intramuscular |