[Patterns in perinatal infection with the hepatitis B virus in areas contrasted by the level of HBsAg and HBeAg carriage]. / Zakonomernosti perinatal'nogo infitsirovaniia virusom gepatita B na territoriiakh, kontrastnykh po urovniu nositel'stva HBsAg i HBeAg.

In 1984-1988, the levels of HBsAg carrier state and the status of the "e"-system components in pregnant women in Moscow and in the Uzbek SSR, as well as the rate of infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) in babies born to women carriers of HBsAg in regions with different levels of HBsAg and HBeAg carrier state were studied. The levels of HBsAg carrier state among pregnant women were different in Moscow and Uzbekistan (1.1% and 6.9%, respectively). It was noted that in female HBsAg carriers in these regions the rate of HBeAg detection differed greatly: 5.2% in Moscow and 13.9% in Uzbekistan. The frequency of perinatal infection with HBV in Moscow was 26.1%, in Uzbekistan 40.0%, the frequency of persistent carrier state of HBsAg in the infected babies of Uzbekistan was 16.0%. The possibility of formation of HBsAg persistence in babies born to women with HBsAg and anti-HBe in the blood was demonstrated. The problem of the use of specific prophylaxis measures to prevent perinatal transmission of HBV is discussed.

[A plasma subunit vaccine against hepatitis B studied in field trials]. / Izuchenie sub''edinichnoi plazmennoi vaktsiny protiv gepatitia B v polevykh ispytaniiakh.

The work presents materials on the study of subunit plasma vaccine against hepatitis B (HB), developed in the USSR, in a controlled epidemiological trial. The study showed low reactogenicity and complete safety of the preparation, the level of anti-HBsAg antibodies in persons, formerly found to have no such antibodies, being 88% after three injections of the vaccine. To determine the prophylactic effectiveness of the vaccine, the test and control groups, each consisting of 500 children, were formed from children aged 1-3 years, i.e. belonging to the age group most frequently affected by HB, by the method of random choice. During 18 months from the time of immunization no cases of HB were registered among the vaccinees, while in the control group 5 cases of HB were registered (8.9 per 1000). These results indicate that the plasma vaccine against HB, newly developed in the USSR, is faintly reactogenic, safe and shows sufficiently high antigenic activity and protective potency correlating with this activity.

[Effect of the content of hepatitis A antibodies in immunoglobulin preparations on the effectiveness of the immunoglobulin prophylaxis of hepatitis A]. / Vliianie soderzhaniia antitel k virusu gepatita A v preparatakh immunoglobulinov na éffektivnost' immunoglobulinoprofilaktiki gepatita.

The results of a strictly controlled experiment showed that prevention of hepatitis A by the injection of immunoglobulin with hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibody titer 1:10000 was 3 times as effective as that achieved with immunoglobulin containing HAV antibodies in titer 1:2500. It is recommended to determine the level of specific HAV antibodies in immunoglobulins and to use immunoglobulins with a high level of HAV antibodies for prevention of hepatitis A.