Vaccine induced protection against hepatitis B

EDITOR—Whittle et al report one of the few long term follow up studies of children vaccinated against hepatitis B.1 The reported reduction in the rate of carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen in two villages in the Gambia, from 13% to 1% and from 35% to 2% respectively, represents a major achievement in public health. We are concerned, however, that those who are influential in deciding policy of hepatitis B vaccination may not appreciate that relevant information is missing in …