Prevention and protection against hepatitis B. Hepatitis B vaccine

Hepatitis B is a viral disease, often leading to liver damage and other complications. Among the entire population of the globe, 350 million people are infected with this virus, of which about 250,000 die annually from chronic liver diseases. Every year, up to 50,000 new cases of hepatitis B are registered in Russia alone, and in total there are up to 5 million carriers of the virus.

The vaccine against hepatitis B is the only reliable way to prevent the virus "jaundice". It is a dangerous infection that sometimes does not give specific symptoms. The disease can be accompanied by poor health, general weakness of the body, loss of appetite, aversion to fatty foods, liver diseases, itching and yellowing of the skin. Unfortunately, the acute form of hepatitis is not always curable, and 5-10% of cases go into chronic form. Then it can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and the development of liver cancer. In extreme cases, liver damage is so severe that it can lead to death.

Types of hepatitis B

Hepatitis B exists in several varieties and manifests itself in two forms:

• Acute;
• Chronic.

Hepatitis in acute form develops immediately after transmission of the virus to humans and has severe symptoms. In some cases, the disease turns into a serious and life-threatening form, called fulminant. More than 90% of adult patients with acute form of hepatitis are successfully cured, in others, the disease becomes chronic.

If a newborn child has contracted hepatitis from his mother, in 95% of cases the disease will go into a chronic form. The severity of the symptoms with this form of the disease can be different and vary within a wide range from the carriage, without any symptoms, to the active chronic stage of hepatitis, which turns into cirrhosis of the liver. This is a serious disease characterized by a special condition of the liver tissue. There is a change in the structure, the formation of cicatricial sites, as a result of which the basic functions of the organ are violated.

Ways of contracting hepatitis

The hepatitis virus is found in all biological fluids of a patient infected with a virus. Blood, sperm, vaginal secretions are the largest in content. Significantly less virus in sweat, saliva, tears, urine and other physiological discharges of a person.

The virus is transmitted directly by contact of the mucous or damaged skin with the biological fluid of the sick person.

Vaccination against hepatitis B

In most countries of the world, the hepatitis B vaccine is necessarily available in a medical facility. The primary importance is the vaccination of newborn children from the virus in the first day of their life. Vaccination is also mandatory for such categories of the population as:

• Patients with diseases requiring intravenous injection, hemodialysis or blood transfusion;
• Staff of all medical institutions;
• Students of medical schools;
• Preschool and secondary school students;
• Family members with chronic hepatitis;
• Persons who frequently travel to areas with a high incidence rate;
• People who had never before vaccinated against the virus.

Those who are not in any of the risk categories, the hepatitis B vaccine is introduced at their request. The degree of need for vaccination is assessed based on how frequently dental and cosmetic rooms, manicure, hairdressing salons, blood transfusion and delivery points are visited, etc. It must be remembered that the main route of infection is sexual contact, the hepatitis B vaccine must be carried out necessarily In the absence of a permanent sexual partner.

Vaccination schedule

Vaccination against hepatitis B is performed intramuscularly three times during the first year of life, and then it is repeated at the age of 14 years of the adolescent with an interval of 0-1-6 months. Vaccination against hepatitis B leads to the development of protective antibodies by the body. The procedure is also performed for persons who have not been vaccinated before the age of 14, health workers and medical students, patients with chronic diseases and persons from their environment. Viral hepatitis in 5-10% of cases passes into a chronic form, which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer.

Vaccination against hepatitis B is carried out in several stages. This is a mandatory procedure for all children. Vaccination schedule:

• The first dose - on the first day after birth, the baby is given a vaccine intramuscularly;
• The second dose - in 6-8 weeks of life the vaccine is administered intramuscularly;
• The third dose - for the 7th month of life the vaccine is administered the same way.

Methods of immunization of infants against hepatitis are characterized by a so-called long-term immune memory, i.e. After the introduction of the vaccine, the number of antibodies remains high for a long time. If there is a risk of infection and resistance to the virus has fallen, then there is a need for re-vaccination.

A newborn baby is most sensitive to the hepatitis virus. If infection occurred precisely in this period, the risk of transition of the disease into a chronic form increases to 100%. But the immune factor, which is created by serums and vaccines at this age, is the most persistent.

Children immediately after birth are vaccinated in maternity hospitals. Two more times - a month and six months after the first vaccination. The vaccine against hepatitis should be in the children's polyclinic. With the correct scheme of vaccinations without omissions, 100% immunity is provided, which lasts, at least, up to fifteen years.

There are cases when the hepatitis B vaccine does not give an immune response. This happens in 5% of the total population. Then you need to look for other ways to protect against the virus, using vaccines and vaccinations of a different kind.

Injections against hepatitis B, permitted in Russia

To date, developed modern substances and preparations for administration to the human body in order to protect against the virus. In Russia, the hepatitis B vaccine is used: Engeriks-B, Regevac B, Eberbiovac NV, Sci-B-Vac, recombinant yeast vaccine against hepatitis B. These preparations are mainly manufactured on the basis of purified surface antigens of the hepatitis B virus , Obtained by genetic engineering through the dilution of yeast cells absorbed on aluminum hydroxide. These vaccines induce the production of specific antibodies against the HBsAg antigen. According to clinical trials, vaccination with these drugs provides effective protection against disease in 95-100% of newborns, children and adults at risk. 95% of newborns and mothers who have antigen detected are fully protected from hepatitis B infection after vaccination according to the scheme of 0, 1, 2, 12 months. Or 0, 1, 6 months. In healthy individuals up to 15 years of age, vaccinated according to the scheme of 0, 1, 6 months, after 7 months from the first vaccination, a protective level of antibodies is noted. However, there are drugs, the action of which has not yet been fully studied. For example, the drug "Euvax" is currently banned for use in Russia, as it caused the death of many children in Vietnam.

Contraindications and side effects

The vaccine against hepatitis B has the only contraindication in the form of intolerance to baker's yeast, since the vaccine can contain their traces. In addition, preterm infants may have a low immune response to vaccination. Then the hepatitis B vaccine should be postponed until the child's weight is increased to 2 kg.

Sometimes after the vaccination, there is an increase in body temperature for one or two days, accompanied by a general malaise. Very rarely are allergic reactions in the form of urticaria.

It is very important that pregnancy and lactation are not absolute contraindications to vaccination. In this case, vaccination with live bacteria devoid of virulence is not recommended. Also, during pregnancy, vaccines against the following infectious diseases are not administered: measles, rubella, chicken pox, tuberculosis.