Immunisation against infectious disease / Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

  • Great Britain. Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Date:
1988
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Immunisation against infectious disease / Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Hepatitis B : yet be formulated, but individuals who are at high risk may wish to determine their antibody level periodically. If this falls below 10m1U/ml the need for a booster dose should be considered. 12.3.1 Vaccination should be considered for the groups of individuals discussed in the succeeding paragraphs under the headings “Health Care Personnel”, “Patients and Family Contacts”, and “Other Indica- tions for Immunisation”. It should be offered to those at highest risk as described in 12.3.5, although this list should not be regarded as exclusive. 12.3.2 Immunisation takes up to six months to confer adequate protection. This should be kept in mind when considering the need for individuals to have the vaccine. It is especially relevant in = case of new students and trainees. NB. It is important that vaccination against hepatitis B does not encourage relaxation of good infection-control procedures. The vaccina- tion does not prevent cross-infection with hepatitis B or protect against other blood-borne diseases such as HIV. 12.3.3 The vaccine should not be given to individuals known to be hepatitis B surface antigen (or antibody) positive, or to patients with acute hepatitis B, since in the former case it would be unnecessary and, in the latter, ineffective. Intimate contacts of individuals suffering from acute hepatitis B should be treated by passive immunisation (see 12.8) followed by active immunisation (this could be commenced simul- taneously). 12.3.4 Hepatitis B vaccine may be given to HIV positive individuals; see 1.3, 12.2.3, 12.8. Screening for antibodies prior to vaccination may be considered in a population where the antibody prevalence is expected to be high. 12.3.5 Health care personnel Doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and others, including students and trainees, who have direct contact with patients or their body fluids, or