Hepatitis B, or HBV, is a virus that attacks the liver, causing acute and chronic liver disease. Infection occurs when the blood and body fluids of an HBV-infected person is transmitted to another. The World Health Organization, or WHO, states that 2 billion people have been infected with the hepatitis B virus worldwide. About 350,000 of these are chronic cases, 25 percent of which will develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, there is no drug available to cure an HBV infection but prevention in the form of an HBV vaccine is highly effective, safe and easily accessible.
Infant and Pediatric Vaccination
Both the National Network for Immunization Information, or NNII, and the World Health Organization report the HBV vaccine is 95 percent effective against HBV infection in the pediatric population; the vaccine is also reported to be the first vaccine to prevent liver cancer, the deadliest complication of HBV chronic infection. Immunization for HBV has been widely available since 1982. In 2005, a national program for HBV immunization of infants before discharge from the hospital was instituted. The goal was not only to prevent acute infection but the risk of developing chronic HBV infection and liver cancer, a complication three times more likely to develop in the pediatric population than in adults.
Adult Vaccination
Vaccination of infants, children and young adults up to the age of 40 is about 95 percent effective. The success rate drops below 90 percent in adults older than 40. Ninety percent of healthy adults who become infected with the hepatitis B virus recover without complications; however, 25 percent of adults who were chronically infected with HBV as children die of liver cancer. Prevention beginning with vaccination in infancy is key to establishing lifelong immunity to HBV.
High-risk Group Vaccination
Hepatitis B is transmitted through contact with blood and body fluids. Those at highest risk for infection with the hepatitis B virus are those requiring frequent infusion of blood products, health care workers coming in contact with blood and body fluids, IV drug users sharing needles, those engaging in risky sexual practices, and international travelers frequenting countries with high HBV rates of infection. Prevention of HBV infection through a proactive program of vaccination is recommended to high risk individuals and is highly effective in preventing infection and complications of infection from HBV.
Older Adult Vaccination
Immunity from HBV vaccination drops to 65 to 75 percent in the older-than-60 population, reinforcing the importance of early vaccination. The rate of effectiveness is expected to improve as the newborn population receives the HBV vaccine, granting lifelong immunity. The vaccine has been available for only 20 years but, according to WHO, a billion doses of HBV vaccine have been distributed and administered worldwide with an outstanding rate of safety and effectiveness against becoming infected with the potentially deadly hepatitis B virus.
