Immunological and epidemiological effectiveness of pediatric vaccination against hepatitis A using a single dose of inactivated vaccine

Hepatitis A is an acute liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), which can be prevented by means of vaccination. The standard hepatitis A vaccination schedule consists of two doses of inactivated vaccine, but for economic reasons and the purpose of improving vaccination coverage, universal pediatric single-dose vaccination programs have been implemented in certain regions of the world.
The aim of this review is to summarize and analyze published data on the duration of protective antibody levels after a single-dose pediatric immunization, as well as hepatitis A incidence in countries where hepatitis A vaccination is carried out using a single dose of inactivated vaccine.
Recent data from different regions of the world, including the Russian Federation, support the effectiveness of the single-dose hepatitis A vaccination strategy, both in terms of the duration of the immune response and the impact on the incidence rates. However, further studies on the long-term effectiveness of single-dose immunization with inactivated vaccine, as well as continuous hepatitis A surveillance, are necessary to assess the duration of protection and the necessity for booster vaccination later in life.