[Reactivity and immunogenicity of Havrix 360 vaccine for hepatitis A]

The reactogenicity and immunogenicity of a new vaccine against viral hepatitis A, under the name HAVRIX, manufactured by SmithKline Beecham Biologicals, Belgium, was studied. A single dose of 1 ml contains not less than 360 ELISA units of inactivated HAV, strain HM175, cultivated on human diploid cells. The vaccine has been applied intramuscularly to 80 second-grade primary school children under the 0, 1 and 6-month schedule. Postvaccinal reactions were followed for three days after each application of the vaccine. They were generally mild and present in less than 5% of the vaccinees (local as well as general). One month after the last vaccination the seroconversion was 100% in the anti HAV antibody test (HAVAB-ABBOT), the antibody level being over 500 IU/I, in 98% of the vaccinees. In conclusion, the tested vaccine is perfectly acceptable from both aspects, postvaccinal reactions and conferred protection. As the hepatitis A morbidity in Croatia has never been as low as in the last few years, the eventual introduction of this vaccination into the EPI is questionable.