[Trial of hepatitis B prophylaxis in children born to mothers carrying HBs antigen in New Caledonia].

A prophylaxis trial of hepatitis B at birth was carried out in New Caledonia. Ninety-nine newborns from women carrying hepatitis B antigen during pregnancy were immunized. The prophylaxis protocol was as follows: anti-HBs immunoglobulin and the first dose of vaccine at birth if the mother was HBe Ag+ or HBe Ag- without anti-HBe, only vaccination if the mother showed anti-HBe antibodies. 73.8% had anti-HBs antibodies when checked at 6 months; at the age of one year, this figure was 60.4%. Four months after the booster injection, 68.3% were anti-HBs positive. Among all these children, three of them were born to HBe Ag+ mothers became HBs Ag/HBe Ag positive. The control group studied showed that mother-infant vertical transmission was not the only route of contamination in children in New Caledonia.