Hepatitis B Vaccine

The hepatitis B virus, also known as HBV, is a very serious disease. This article is going to tell you a little bit about the disease and vaccine. If you know little about hepatitis, this article should give you some insight on the hepatitis B virus and the vaccine.

hepatitis

How is hepatitis B spread or how does a person get it? Hepatitis B is spread through contact with bodily fluids and the blood of an infected individual. You can hepatitis B through sexual contact and sharing needles when a person injects themselves with illegal drugs. If you work in the medical field, you can get hepatitis B if you are accidentally stuck with a needle on the job. Pregnant mothers can also pass the virus to their unborn child while in the womb.

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What are the long term affects of hepatitis B? Hepatitis B can cause chronic illnesses that usually turn into liver damage or cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer and/or death.

An estimated 1.25 million Americans in the United States get infected chronically with hepatitis B. The highest percentage of people who have hepatitis B are from the ages of 20 to 49 years of age. New infections of hepatitis B have declined since the 1980's due to the hepatitis B vaccine. New infections each year used to top 260,000 individuals, and has dropped to approximately 80,000 over the past 20 years. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people die from hepatitis each year.

Everyone under 18 years old should get the hepatitis vaccine, and those older than 18 years old should get the vaccine if they are at risk of getting the virus. If you have not had the hepatitis B vaccine, and you are at risk for getting hepatitis B, you should really consider getting the vaccine. You are at risk for getting hepatitis B if you have more than one sexual partner in a 6 month period. You are at risk for getting hepatitis B if you are a man that has sex with other men, or if you have sex with a man that had had sex with another man. You are at risk if you inject illegal drugs or have sexual encounters with infected people. You are also at risk if you work in a health care facility, if you work in public safety, or if are a hemodialysis patient.

The hepatitis B vaccine is usually given in 3 doses, however there are a few exceptions. Infants under six months of age should not be given the 3rd dose because it can reduce the long-term protection of the vaccine. Youth from the ages to 11 and 15 years of age may also only need two doses about 4-6 months apart.

There are some people who should not get the vaccine. You should not get the vaccine if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction to baker's yeast, or if you have taken the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine and had a bad reaction to it. If you are even moderately ill, you should wait until you recover before you get the vaccine.

Are there any risks, and if so, what are they? Like any vaccine there is a risk of allergic reaction, but the risk of it causing serious harm or being fatal is almost unheard of. If you think about it, getting the hepatitis B vaccine is much safer than getting the hepatitis B virus. The majority of people who get the vaccine never have a problem with it. One out of eleven children and one out of 4 adults have soreness where the shot was actually given, which which only lasts a day or two. One out of fourteen children and one out of one hundred adults get a mild fever. Severe allergic reactions are extremely rare.

If you think you are having a reaction to the hepatitis vaccine, you should look for high fever and/or unusual behavior. If you were to have a serious reaction to the vaccine, it should happen within a few minutes to a few hours after getting the hepatitis B vaccine. Some other signs to look for are difficulty breathing, wheezing, hives, pale skin color, fast heart beat, dizziness and/or weakness. If you show any of these symptoms and think you are having a reaction to the vaccine, you should call your doctor and tell him that you have had the vaccine and think you are having a reaction to it.

Did you know there is a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program? If you or your child are have a serious reaction to a vaccine, there is a federal program that will help you pay for medical care resulting from a vaccine. To contact the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, you can call 1-800-338-2382 or you can go to their website at http://www.hrsa.gov/osp/vicp .

Hepatitis B Vaccine

HEPATITIS

Does Your Newborn Need the Hepatitis B Vaccine?

Hepatitis b is a liver disease caused by a virus with the same name. The infection may be acute or chronic and symptoms can include fever, malaise, fatigue, jaundice, abdominal tenderness, and elevated liver enzymes. While a person can be quite ill with this infection, the treatment is supportive and aimed at providing comfort. The vast majority of patients recover within eight weeks of an acute episode of the infection without any long term complications.

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Parents are told that hepatitis b is a potentially life-threatening illness. What they are not told is the real risk of serious complications from the disease and that it is very unlikely their child will contract hepatitis b.

HEPATITIS

The virus is spread by coming in contact with the blood of an infected person. The vast majority of hepatitis b infections occur in persons considered to be in "high risk groups." These groups include adults who inject illicit drugs or are chronic alcoholics; individuals who have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease; and men who have sex with men. Only 1.25 percent of infected individuals may develop liver cancer 30 years after being diagnosed as a chronic carrier.(1) Despite the low incidence of cancer, the hepatitis b vaccine has been called the first "anti-cancer vaccine." Considering the risk factors of those who contract hepatitis b, it could well be the alcohol or the drugs that cause the cancer, not the virus.

The number reported cases of acute hepatitis b infection have steadily declined, from 18,003 cases in 1991 to 8,036 cases in 2000.(2) Of all persons who are exposed to the hepatitis b virus, 50 percent will develop no symptoms and 30 percent develop only mild flu-like symptoms. In both circumstances, the person will acquire life-time immunity to the virus.

Approximately 20 percent of persons who contract hepatitis b will develop fever, abdominal tenderness and the telltale sign of the infection: jaundice. In this subset of patients, more than 95 percent recover fully and will be immune for life. That means of all persons who are both exposed to the virus and become measurably ill, only 5 percent have the potential to become chronic carriers of the hepatitis b infection.(3)

So, let's do the math: If 8,000 persons were diagnosed in the U.S. with hepatitis b in 2000, and 5 percent of those became chronic carriers, that would be 400 persons. If approximately 1 percent of chronic carriers go on to develop liver cancer, 4 adults might be prevented from contracting liver cancer by massive vaccination of more than four million newborns born each year.

Why babies?

In 1991, the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP) began recommending the hepatitis b vaccine for newborns within the first 48 hours of life. Between 30-50% of children who develop adequate antibody after three doses of vaccine will loose detectable antibody within 7 years.(4) That means that many children vaccinated as babies will not have a measurable level of antibodies by the time they are seven years of age; most will not retain antibodies into adulthood.

The government pushed hepatitis b vaccination on infants as part of a strategy to eliminate the hepatitis b virus from the general population. Vaccination programs that targeted high-risk groups did not work because many adults refused the vaccine. Finding it difficult to vaccinate high risk groups with three doses of the vaccine, the government advisors decided the only way to control the problem was to vaccinate the entire population, starting at birth.

Newborns have been targeted for vaccination because they are accessible. Ask any parent who has tried to refuse this vaccine before leaving the hospital and you will hear horror stories of unrelenting pressure placed on them by nurses and doctors wanting to vaccinate their precious newborn.

If the hepatitis b vaccine is avoided at birth, then it is administered during the routine two month office visit...along with five other vaccines: polio (three strains), the Hib (H. influenza), Prevnar (seven strains of streptococcus), DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) and now, the new Rotateque (four strains of rotavirus). That is a total of 19 vaccine antigens and multiple doses of chemicals injected on the same visit into an eight week old baby.

Clearly, the universal vaccination of all newborns with hepatitis b vaccine is a policy that is based on convenience and opportunity, not need. Parents would be wise to investigate the risks of hepatitis b infection long before they are forced to make the decision about the vaccine.

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(1) Hyams, K.C. Risks of chronicity following acute hepatitis B virus infection: A review. Clin. Infect. Dis. 20, 992-1000. 1995.

(2) Acute hepatitis B infection and hepatitis B surface antigen positivity reported in the Department of Veterans Affairs: Occurrence in a population seeking medical assistance.

(3) Ibid. Hyams, K.C. (1995)

(4) Protection against viral hepatitis. Recommendations of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP). MMWR 1990 Feb 9;39(RR02):1-26.

Does Your Newborn Need the Hepatitis B Vaccine?

HEPATITIS