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Hepatitis Awareness Month – Hepatitis B Vaccine
Hepatitis B Vaccine
The hepatitis B vaccine saves lives. For Hepatitis Awareness Month, learn more about how the vaccine protects children and adults from getting hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B is a significant public health issue, with 862,000 people in the United States infected. Many people with chronic hepatitis B were infected at birth or during early childhood, which increases the chance of a chronic, or lifelong, illness. Over time, chronic hepatitis B can cause serious health problems including liver cancer and liver failure.
Preventing Perinatal Hepatitis B Transmission
The hepatitis B virus is spread when blood or other body fluid from an infected person enters the body of another person. A pregnant woman who is infected with the hepatitis B virus can pass the virus to her infant at birth if the baby isn’t vaccinated in a timely manner. Unfortunately, 90% of infants infected at birth develop a lifelong infection, and an estimated one in four of these infants will die early from serious liver problems, including liver cancer. To address this public health concern, all pregnant women in the United States and many other countries are now screened routinely for hepatitis B infection.
If a pregnant woman has hepatitis B, health care providers take extra steps to prevent the spread of this deadly disease to her infant. Some women may benefit from treatment during their pregnancies. All infants born to mothers with hepatitis B should get a hepatitis B vaccine dose and hepatitis B immune globulin within 12 hours of birth and complete the vaccine series. This will prevent transmission of the virus in approximately 95% of infants born to infected women.
To protect every infant from potential infection, CDC recommends all babies get the first shot in the hepatitis B vaccine series within 24 hours of birth, and complete the vaccine series as recommended. In the United States and many parts of the world, widespread infant vaccination programs have led to dramatic declines of new hepatitis B cases.
Preventing Hepatitis B in Adults
Some adults are also at increased risk for hepatitis B. The best way to prevent infection with the hepatitis B virus is by being vaccinated, usually with a series of 2 to 3 shots. It is important to get the entire series of shots for long-term protection. The vaccine is recommended for adults with sexual risks for hepatitis B, including people with multiple sex partners during the previous 6 months, anyone seeking evaluation for a sexually transmitted infection, men who have sex with men, and anyone having sex with a hepatitis B-infected partner. The vaccine is also recommended for people who inject drugs, people who live with someone with hepatitis B, travelers to certain countries, residents and staff of facilities for people with developmental disabilities, people receiving dialysis, health care and public safety workers exposed to blood, and people who are in jail and prison. Also, people with certain diseases and conditions including diabetes, chronic liver disease, hepatitis C virus infection, or HIV infection are recommended to get vaccinated against hepatitis B, along with anyone else seeking protection against hepatitis B infection.
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