According to a study, three doses of HEPLISAV-B vaccine provide full protection to adults who got HIV, who have never been immunised against hepatitis B virus (HBV) either through vaccination or infection.
The research presented at annual IDWeek conference in Washington, US from October 19 to 23, the researchers are from University of Cincinnati and Cornell University tested three-doses of HEPLISAV-B among 68 adults effected with HIV in the US, South Africa, and Thailand.
The participants had either received a previous HBV vaccination or had evidence of a previous HBV infection - all were on antiretroviral therapy to combat infection by retroviruses such as HIV. Retroviruses are a group of viruses that carries two single-strand linear RNA molecules per virion, or a viral particle, and reverse transcriptase (RNA to DNA).
HEPLISAV-B vaccine 0.5 milliliter (mL) works as an intramuscular injection, the study participants received additional doses at four weeks and 24 weeks.
The objective of this part of the study was to assess anti-HBV surface antibodies (HBsAbs) greater than 10 milli-international units per milliliter (mIU/mL) at week 28, defined as seroprotection, or protection in the blood serum, from HBV, and to assess the vaccine's safety.
All participants achieved seroprotection with 88 per cent of them achieving HbsAb levels greater than 1000 mIU/mL. High antibody levels are associated with long-term vaccine durability.
When co-infected with HBV, people with HIV, particularly those receiving antiretroviral medication, are more likely to get liver-related illnesses and even death.
People living with HIV are less likely to produce protective immunological response to HBV vaccination.
