AAP: hep B vaccine to be given within first 24 hours of life

(HealthDay)—The first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine should be given within the first 24 hours of life, according to an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement published online Aug. 28 in Pediatrics.

Noting that about 1,000 new cases of perinatal hepatitis B infection are identified annually in the United States, researchers from the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases and Committee on Fetus and Newborn issued recommendations for the prevention of perinatal hepatitis B.

To ensure administration of appropriate postexposure immunoprophylaxis with hepatitis B vaccine and immune globulin, prevention of perinatal hepatitis B relies on the proper and timely identification of infants born to mothers who are hepatitis B surface antigen positive and to mothers with unknown status. The AAP supports removal of permissive language for delaying the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine and, for all medically stable infants weighing greater than or equal to 2,000 g, endorse the recommendation for giving the birth vaccine within the first 24 hours of life in order to further reduce the incidence of perinatal hepatitis B transmission.

"After completion of a three- or four-dose hepatitis B vaccine series, 98 percent of healthy term infants achieve protective antibody concentrations," the authors write.