Anyone else fail their Hep B titer?

[Wermz]

Yeeeahhh boi

Startin the series fresh tomorrow

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[235788]

no, but I've heard of false positives

 

[lisi326]

hahaha nope, I'm still immune to everything.

GO immunizations!

 

[Tapepsi]

I still need a doctor to get my hep b titer!!! My pediatrician of course changed the age range from 0-21 to 0-20 without notifying me and now I'm on my own to find a new doctor and try and get everything done before school starts in August.

 

[lisi326]

I still need a doctor to get my hep b titer!!! My pediatrician of course changed the age range from 0-21 to 0-20 without notifying me and now I'm on my own to find a new doctor and try and get everything done before school starts in August.

I would suggest trying the dept. of health for your county. I got all my titers and TB tests done at mine for way cheap

 

[Suncrusher]

Yeeeahhh boi

Startin the series fresh tomorrow

Nope. Your immune system sucks 😉

 

[bobow98]

shouldn't just a booster be ok? that's what I'm doing when i get back stateside.

 

[Isoprop]

haha, i just failed mine too. I just got the booster and now I have to wait a month for another titer.

 

[chrissyxf]

I work in hepatology and this is CDC recs: most people will seroconvert after the vaccination series while a tiny percentage won't (something like 1-3%). However, they do not recommend re-vaccination even if titers fall below detectable levels as there is evidence you're still protected. further, if you never seroconverted during the initial series, the chances of you ever doing so are next to nil.

 

[foster033]

I've had the 3-shot course twice and 2 boosters and am still negative.

 

[Lokhtar]

Hep b? Why not hep a+? You'll never get into med school with that.

 

[mauberley]

Hep b? Why not hep a+? You'll never get into med school with that.

I see what you did there.

 

[eablackwell]

I was happy that mine came back immune. At the school I'm going to you have to be immune by matriculation, and it's a 6 month series, plus a month wait for the titer.

Sucks that you have to start fresh, but at least you have space between the shots. 😉 I had a nurse on either side of me the other day counting down to jab me with the rest of my immunizations at the same time. My shoulders have been sore for days.

 

[The right Path]

I know of two people that had two HBV series and "failed" the immunity followup. Interestingly, these same two also failed the varicella zoster (chicken pox) vaccine as well.

That was interesting info re: the CDC recs that chrissyxf posted. I wonder how they have determined that these people have adequate immunity despite low antibody titers?

 

[SoDakMLS]

I wonder how they have determined that these people have adequate immunity despite low antibody titers?

Kinda my thoughts as well! I get the whole immunologic memory thing, but I don't like the idea of giving any virus a 2-3 day head start before my antibody titer rises again!

But, I've been yelled at by the crotchety nurse at employee health for having my HBsAb titer checked after I was shown immune 4 years ago. My med school doesn't care that I'm now "gray zone" either.

 

[chronicidal]

CDC-approved guidelines from the Immunization Action Coalition:

What should be done if a HCW's postvaccination anti-HBs test is negative 1[SIZE=-1]-[/SIZE]2 months after the last dose of vaccine?

[SIZE=-1]Repeat the 3-dose series and test for anti-HBs 1-2 months after the last dose of vaccine. If the HCW is still negative after a second vaccine series, the HCW is considered a non-responder to hepatitis B vaccination. HCWs who do not respond to vaccination should be tested for HBsAg to determine if they have chronic HBV infection. If the HBsAg test is positive, the person should receive appropriate counseling and medical management. Persons who test negative for HBsAg should be considered susceptible to HBV infection and should be counseled about precautions to prevent HBV infection and the need to obtain hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) prophylaxis for any known or likely exposure to HBsAg-positive blood.

[/SIZE]How often should I test HCWs after they've received the hepatitis B vaccine series to make sure they're protected?

[SIZE=-1]For immune competent HCWs, periodic testing or periodic boosting is not needed. Postvaccination testing (anti-HBs) should be done 1-2 months after the last dose of hepatitis B vaccine. If adequate anti-HBs (at least 10 mIU/mL) is present, nothing more needs to be done. If postvaccination testing is less than 10 mIU/mL, the vaccine series should be repeated and anti-HBs testing done, 1-2 months after the last dose of the second series. This information should be recorded in the HCW's employee health record.

[/SIZE]Should a HCW who performs invasive procedures and who once had a positive anti-HBs result be revaccinated if the anti-HBs titer is rechecked and is less than 10 mIU/mL?

[SIZE=-1]No. Immune competent persons known to have responded to hepatitis B vaccination do not require additional passive or active immunization. Postvaccination testing should be done 1-2 months after the original vaccine series is completed. In this scenario, the initial postvaccination testing showed that the HCW was protected. Substantial evidence suggests that adults who respond to hepatitis B vaccination (anti-HBs of at least 10 mIU/mL) are protected from chronic HBV infection for more than 20 years, even if there is no detectable anti-HBs currently. Only immunocompromised persons (e.g., hemodialysis patients, some HIV-positive persons) need to have anti-HBs testing and booster doses of vaccine to maintain their protective anti-HBs concentrations of at least 10 mIU/mL.[/SIZE]

 

[osumc2014]

I work in hepatology and this is CDC recs: most people will seroconvert after the vaccination series while a tiny percentage won't (something like 1-3%). However, they do not recommend re-vaccination even if titers fall below detectable levels as there is evidence you're still protected. further, if you never seroconverted during the initial series, the chances of you ever doing so are next to nil.

Yep even though people get vaccinated, there's a small group of nonresponders and they won't be immune. Sorry just be very careful in clinical settings