A prospective study of the relationship between serum hepatitis B virus DNA and the risk of primary liver cancer / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the relationship between the serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and the risk of primary liver cancer (PLC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Farmers aged 30 to 55 years in Long An county were recruited in this study Blood samples were collected and the sera were tested for HBsAg using Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA), and the HBsAg-positive sera were further tested for viral DNA using nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR). The study subjects were divided into three groups. The first group was positive for both HBsAg and HBV DNA. The second group was positive for HBsAg but negative for HBV DNA. Age-, sex-, residence-matched HBsAg negative controls for group 1 and group 2 were enrolled in the third group. The cohort was followed up for four years.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positive rate of HBsAg in these farmers was 14.52% (3975/27,379), and the HBV DNA positive rate in HBsAg positive subjects was 40.35% (1604/3975). The total PLC incidence rate in Group 1 and 2 was 672.45 /100,000 person-years (PY), significantly higher than that in Group3 (17.19 /100,000 PY). The relative risk (RR) was 39.123, and the 95% confidence interval (CI) was 9.018-159.146. The PLC incidence rate of Group 1 (984.03/100,000 PY) was significantly higher than that of Group2 (324.38 /100,000 PY). The RR was 3.034, and the 95% CI was 1.795-5.125. Multivariate analyses of Group1 and 2 with Cox model showed that sex, age, serum HBV DNA, and family history of PLC were independent risk factors of PLC.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HBV DNA and HBsAg positive subjects have a higher chance to develop PLC than HBV DNA negative-, HBsAg positive subjects.</p>

Variations of hepatitis B virus infection epidemic pattern after long-term HBV vaccine immunization / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the epidemic pattern and trend of HBV infection in the area where the people had been immunized by HBV vaccine for 20 years.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The whole sampling method was applied in combination with cross-sectional investigation. Blood samples were taken from every member of families. Markers of HBV infection were determined by using solid-phase radioimmunoassay (SPRIA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The average HBsAg positive rate was 7.5%. The positive rate of markers for HBV infection of 0-19 years old subjects were lower than those of > or = 20 years old subjects. (2) The positive rate of HBsAg of 0-19 years old subjects in 1985 was higher than that in 2005. The anti-HBs positive rate in 1985 stemmed to be higher with age. It was 12.4% in 1- age group to 53.8% in >60 years age group. While the result of 2005 showed that the anti-HBs positive rate of 0-19 years old subjects dropped with age. The anti-HBc positive rate in 1985 also tended to be higher with age. But the result of 2005 showed that the rate of 0-19 years old subjects was just 1.4% to 16.8%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The epidemic patterns of HBV infection have had significant variations in the target population. HBV vaccine immunization has obtained excellent efficacy.</p>

Studies on the status of immune memory after completion of hepatitis B vaccination / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the immune memory in vaccinees after the completion of a full schedule hepatitis B immunization.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One thousand and two hundred one infants born in 1987 -1989 were immunized with 3 doses of plasma derived hepatitis B vaccine, while 2484 newborn babies during 1996-1999 were injected with 3 doses of the yeast recombinant hepatitis B vaccine. All of the infants under observation were tested for HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc, in 2005. Of 959 individuals negative for anti-HBs (< 10 mIU/ml), HBsAg and anti-HBc, 228 were immunized with plasma-derived vaccine and 731 with yeast recombinant vaccine after birth. All of them were detected for anti-HBs 15 days after a booster of 10 Ipg yeast recombinant vaccine. In addition, interleukin-2 (IL-2) was detected in 11 non-responders and 22 responders after boostering, using an enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT). The anti-HBs levels of 190 individuals (91 with plasma derived vaccine and 99 with yeast recombinant vaccine) who had had quantitative data on their antibody status after the primary hepatitis B vaccination, were compared with that after the boostering.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the individuals who received plasma derived vaccine 16-18 years ago, 79.82% of them showed the signs of immune memory after one booster, with a geometric mean titer (GMT)of 325.69 mIU/ml. Of the individuals who received the yeast recombinant vaccine 6-9 years ago, 95.62% showed immune memory after one booster,with its GMT of 745.18 mIU/ml. Anti-HBs levels induced by the booster were associated with that after the primary immunization. The positive rate of IL-2 was 40.91% in subjects with good immune memory. However, IL-2 was not detected in non-responders after the booster (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Most of the individuals who had received a completed schedule of primary hepatitis B vaccination and seroconverted from anti-HBs positive to negative,showed the signs of having immune memory after the booster. Only a small proportion of the vaccinees had lost their immune memory during the long term follow-up period, suggesting that these individuals should receive a booster of hepatitis B vaccine in the highly endemic areas of hepatitis B. Hepatitis B virus; Immune memory; Booster immunization</p>

Study on the variations of hepatitis B virus status among people having received hepatitis B vaccine / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the epidemiological pattern and trends of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the area where people had been immunized by HBV vaccine for long time.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Through cluster sampling and cross-sectional study, relative information and blood samples from people in Long-an county by families were collected. Signals of HBV infection were tested by solid-phase reverse immunosorbent test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The average HBsAg positive rate was 7.5% with anti-HBs as 44.5 %, and anti-HBc as 47.8%. The positive rates of HBsAg and anti-HBc among 0-19 year-olds were lower than those of > or = 20 year-olds. (2) The positive rates of HBsAg, anti-HBc and HBV infection among HBV vaccine immunized group were 2.8%, 12.0% and 12.5% respectively, comparing with which among the un-immunized group as 10.2%, 69.8% and 71.2% respectively. (3) The HBsAg positive rate of male was higher than the female's but with no significant difference of anti-HBs and anti-HBc between different sexes. (4) The average HBsAg positive rate of 0-19 years old group was only 2.4%, while that of 20-30 years old group was 13.6%-17.7% and dropped from 60 years old group and on. The anti-HBs positive rate of 0-19 years old people started to drop significantly by age. The anti-HBs and anti-HBc positive rates of > or = 20 years people were showing a rising trend by ages.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It seemed obviously that the HBV epidemiological patterns had changed after HBV vaccine had been universally used for long time in newborns. The age peak of infection had been pushed backward for nearly 20 years. It had been proved that the HBV vaccine immunization program had obtained excellent efficacy.</p>

Efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination on hepatitis B prevention and on hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination on hepatitis B prevention and on hepatocellular carcinoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Birth cohort study, cross-sectional seroepidemiological survey, and surveillance of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatocellular carcinoma were used to evaluate the efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>During the 14 years after hepatitis B vaccination, the HBsAg positive rates were found to be 0.7% - 2.9%, with an average of 1.5%, and the protective rates were 83.5% - 96.6%. Hepatitis B virus infection rates of children immunized with hepatitis B vaccine were 1.1% - 5.1%, with an average of 2.2% and the protective rates of 93.5% - 98.4%. 15 years after hepatitis B vaccination, the incidence of hepatitis B dropped from 3.27/10 000 to 0.17/10 000, a 94.8% decrease, in the group of 0 - 19 year-olds.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The universal infant hepatitis B vaccination has proved to be effective in reducing the incidence rate of acute hepatitis B as well as the mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma.</p>