Immunoglobulin for hepatitis A

Type: Human normal immunoglobulin.
No of doses: Single dose.
Dosage and duration of protection:250mg(1 vial) 2 months, 500mg(2 vials) 4 months, 750mg(3 vials) 5-6 months.
Effective: Immediately
Availability: In Scotland immunoglobulin can be obtained from the Blood Transfusion Services or on prescription through retail pharmacies.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland it is only obtained for travellers on prescription through retail pharmacies.

Notes
Serological evidence of previous infection makes this vaccination unnecessary. Checking for hepatits A antibodies can be useful for those who have previously lived in countries where hepatitis A is endemic, for those with a previous history of jaundice and for those over 50 years of age who are more likely to have been naturally infected in childhood.
The usual laboratory test used for confirming previous infection does not become "positive" after active vaccination
Human normal IG may interfere with the efficacy of live virus vaccines (eg. poliomyelitis, measles, mumps and rubella) It should therefore be given ideally at least 3 weeks after a live vaccine or 3 months before.
This is of less importance when giving boosterdoses of poliomyelitis vaccine to those already immune and does not apply to yellow fever vaccine since specific antibodies are not normally present in pooled immunoglobulin. Concern is often expressed about the possibility of HIV contamination of immunoglobulin preparations.
The manufacturers of the commercial preparation (Immuno Ltd) are confident that this is not a problem because:
a) All donations are screened for HIV antibody.
b) The ethanol fractionation procedure used in manufacture has been shown to remove/inactivate viruses including HIV.
c) All plasma donations are also tested and found negative for Hepatitis C antibodies.
However when products prepared from blood or blood products are administered transmission of infectious agents can't be totally excluded, particularly pathogens of a hitherto unknown nature.