Efficacy of hepatitis B immunisation.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic to Singapore, the carrier rate being highest among the Chinese. It is the cause of significant morbidity and mortality. The prevention of this condition is therefore an important objective. Plasma derived vaccines have been shown to be effective in the prevention of perinatal as well as horizontal spread of HBV. However, the high cost of production together with deep-seated, though unfounded fears of the possibility of transmission of other viruses has limited its use. The advent of recombinant yeast vaccine is therefore an important event since the unfounded fears can now be laid to rest, and the cost of immunisation should eventually decrease as production increases. The efficacy of recombinant yeast vaccine has been found to be comparable to that of plasma derived vaccine.