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Post-Transplant Events

Loss of hepatitis A virus antibodies after bone marrow transplantation

Abstract

Reimmunization guidelines have recommended the inactivated HAV vaccine for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients living in or traveling to areas where hepatitis A is endemic. As a shift from high to medium hepatitis A endemicity has been observed in several countries in Latin America, we conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis A pre-bone marrow transplant (BMT) and the loss of specific antibodies in consecutive stored serum samples from 77 BMT recipients followed up from 82 to 1530 days. The prevalence of HAV antibodies was 92.2% before BMT. As vaccine was not available in Brazil when the samples were taken, it was assumed that this prevalence reflects natural infection. Survival analysis showed that the probability of becoming seronegative was 4.5% (±2.6%), 7.9% (±3.4%), 10.1% (±4.0%), 23.4% (±9.6%) at 1, 2, 3 and 4 years after transplant, respectively. The loss of HAV antibodies was significantly associated with longer follow-up (P=0.0015), younger age (P=0.049) and acute graft-versus-host disease (P=0.035). As most reimmunization protocols start around day +365, in developing countries with similar HAV endemicity, BMT recipients should have serological screening before HAV vaccination and the inactivated vaccine should be advised to those seronegative.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs FL Dulley, MCA Macedo, RL Silva and RS Saboya, from the BMT Program of University of São Paulo Medical School, for providing excellent patient care and without whose support this study would not have been possible.

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Correspondence to C M Machado.

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Godoi, E., de Souza, V., Cakmak, S. et al. Loss of hepatitis A virus antibodies after bone marrow transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 38, 37–40 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705391

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