Abstract
As hepatitis B virus does not replicate in tissue culture systems, it was impossible to prepare a vaccine in the conventional way. However, the surface-antigen of the virus is present in abundance in the blood of certain virus carriers. This phenomenon has been used to develop plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccines and these vaccines are now available. In low incidence countries vaccination should be restricted to high-risk groups after initial screening for antibodies to hepatitis B virus. In areas where hepatitis B virus infection is highly endemic immunisation of the whole population, immediately after birth, is probably the most effective strategy. The high cost of the currently available plasma-derived vaccine is a constraint on the implementation of public health programmes for the prevention of hepatitis B. A second generation of vaccines — made by DNA recombinant technology — is expected to be available in the near future and could be the answer to these problems.
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