HBV seroprevalence after 25 years of universal mass vaccination and management of non-responders to the anti-Hepatitis B vaccine: An Italian study among medical students.

According to international guidelines, healthcare workers and medical students immunized against HBV are periodically tested for anti-HBs IgG. Subjects who show an anti-HBs titre <10 mUI/mL must receive additional vaccine doses to induce a measurable antibody response. This study aimed to evaluate the long-time immunogenicity of anti-hepatitis B vaccination in a sample of medical students and residents of the University of Bari who attended the Hygiene Department for biological risk assessment (April 2014-June 2017). The strategy for the management of nonresponder subjects was evaluated. A total of 3676 students and residents were invited for testing according to a standardized protocol. Anti-HBs IgG was tested for in 3140 (85.4%) subjects: 1174/3140 (37.7%) subjects were negative. 14.6% (128/808) of subjects who received the vaccine during their 12th year of life and 45.8% (1056/2305) of subjects immunized during the first year of life (P < 0.0001) were negative. 1005/1174 (85.6%) seronegative subjects received a booster dose, and 903/1005 (89.9%) were tested for anti-HBs 1 month after the booster dose: 82/903 (9.1%) subjects were still negative. Of these, 56/82 (68.3%) received 2 additional doses of vaccine and 52/56 (92.9%) were tested 1 month after the third dose: 50/52 subjects (96.2%) developed a positive titre. In conclusion, several medical students, immunized at birth or at young age against HBV, did not develop protective titres against the virus. Our management strategy (booster retest; for negative subjects, 2 doses and retest) seems consistent with the purpose of evidencing immunological memory.

Leishmaniasis in patients with chronic renal failure: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the clinician.

BACKGROUND: The role of leishmaniasis in dialyzed or transplanted patients for chronic renal failure is generally neglected. In this study, the authors present a series of three cases of leishmaniasis (one visceral, one mucous and one muco-visceral) in patients with end-stage renal failure characterized by an atypical presentation and/or resistance to therapy. CASE DESCRIPTION: Two patients had an atypical infection: the first patient demonstrated a mucosal form, while the second had visceral and mucosal involvement. These two presentations are very rare and, to the best of our knowledge, other autoctonous disease cases have never been described in Italy. In the first patient, a cycle of oral itraconazole was scarcely effective and poorly tolerated, while treatment with 15% topical paromomycin sulfate was successful. Patients two and three failed to respond to meglumine antimonate and amphotericin B lipid complex. A second cycle with liposomal amphotericin B was effective in both cases. In addition, a superior safety profile for liposomal amphotericin B in comparison with the lipid complex amphotericin B was observed. CONCLUSIONS: These three cases highlight the problem of leishmaniasis in both renal transplanted and dialyzed patients and suggest that this infection could be far from infrequent in addition to being resistant to therapies. Leishmaniasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of fevers of unknown origin and mucosal lesions in these patients, even in countries not at risk for mucosal leishmaniasis.