How Do You Catch Hepatitis B Virus
Blood from a person infected with hepatitis B virus is heavily contaminated with the virus. As a result, contact with blood is the most likely way to catch hepatitis B. Even casual contact with the blood of someone who is infected can cause infection.
Healthcare workers are at high risk of catching the disease, as are intravenous drug users and newborns of mothers infected with the virus. Sexual contact can also expose people to infection. The virus is also present in low levels in saliva.
Minimizing The Impact On Family
The economic impact of adult illness is evident from loss of productivity and pay for the duration of the illness and recovery period. The impact of childhood illness falls primarily on their adult carers, generally parents. In most industrialized regions, two-parent families are reliant on both parents undertaking at least part-time or full-time work. Therefore, when a child is unwell with childhood illnesses, which may or may not necessitate admission to hospital, the parent will invariably have to forego their paid employment to care for the child. In seven European countries one parent or carer required time off work in 3991% of rotavirus gastroenteritis cases . This loss of productivity in the parental workforce tends to disproportionately affect women, but loss of either parental attendance at work reduces overall employer productivity and in the short-term is rarely replaced. This argument was made for the impact of chicken pox on children, whereby the exclusion from school mandates parental caring at home for a period until the lesions are crusted over. VZV vaccines are estimated to have had a similar impact as rotavirus vaccine in United States studies . In many regions, mothers are still the primary carers, spending their days at home caring for children and maintaining the household in these settings, the impact on this unpaid work is harder to determine.
What Is The Hepatitis B Vaccine
The Hepatitis B vaccine provides early protection from the virus that causes serious liver diseases. These diseases may include hepatitis, liver cancer, or scarring of the liver or commonly known to us as cirrhosis.
The vaccine, contrary to what other people believe, does not contain any live virus. According to the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, it only contains the surface protein of the virus. It is incorporated into yeast cells for it to reproduce. When injected into children, it activates their immune system and produces an immune response. This immune response will provide them with long-term protection against the mentioned health problems.
Note: Hepatitis B is an immunization requirement to travel into some countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . It is also a daycare and school admission requirement in most states.
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How Does Vaccination Work
A healthy immune system defends against invaders. The immune system is composed of several types of cells. These cells defend against and remove harmful pathogens. However, they have to recognize that an invader is dangerous.
Vaccination teaches the body to recognize new diseases. It stimulates the body to make antibodies against antigens of pathogens. It also primes immune cells to remember the types of antigens that cause infection. That allows for a faster response to the disease in the future.
Vaccines work by exposing you to a safe version of a disease. This can take the form of:
- a protein or sugar from the makeup of a pathogen
- a dead or inactivated form of a pathogen
- a toxoid containing toxin made by a pathogen
- a weakened pathogen
When the body responds to the vaccine, it builds an adaptive immune response. This helps equip the body to fight off an actual infection.
Vaccines are usually given by injection. Most vaccines contain two parts. The first is the antigen. This is the piece of the disease your body must learn to recognize. The second is the adjuvant.
The adjuvant sends a danger signal to your body. It helps your immune system to respond more strongly against the antigen as an infection. This helps you develop immunity.
Vaccines are very important for infants, but theyre not all given immediately after birth. Each vaccine is given on a timeline, and some require multiple doses. This table can help you understand the timeline of each vaccine:
| Name of Vaccine |
Keeping Good Immunization Records
It is important to keep accurate records of immunizations, including any reactions to the vaccines. When you enroll your child in day care or school, you may need to show proof of immunizations. Also, your child may need the record later in life for college, employment, or travel.
- Know when each immunization should be scheduled, and put reminder notes on your calendar. You also may want to ask your doctor to send you notices when immunizations are due.
- Have your doctor go over your child’s immunization record with you during each office visit.
- Keep the record in a safe place, and never throw it away. It is an important part of your child’s lifelong medical records.
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Why Should My Baby Get The Hepatitis B Shot
- Protects your child from against hepatitis B, a potentially serious disease.
- Protects other people from the disease because children with hepatitis B usually dont have symptoms, but they may pass the disease to others without anyone knowing they were infected.
- Prevents your child from developing liver disease and cancer from hepatitis B.
- Keeps your child from missing school or child care and you from missing work.
Pros And Cons Of Hepatitis B Vaccine For Newborn
In the United States, the Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns is a common vaccination administered at birth. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all infants receive this vaccine within 24 hours of their birth. The reasoning behind this recommendation is to ensure that an infant can become protected from hepatitis B in its early days when it still lacks strong immune responses.
Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver that can cause acute or chronic illness. It is primarily passed by blood or bodily fluids, including during childbirth, through unsafe sexual practices, and other methods through which an open wound may come into contact with infected bodily fluids. This infection is slightly more common in men than women.
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Acute Hepatitis B Infection
The presentation of acute infection with HBV is extremely variable, ranging from a complete absence of symptoms to severe and sudden onset of liver failure that is life-threatening and requires aggressive treatment. This is a rare complication that occurs in less than 1% of cases, however. In general, when signs and symptoms of illness do occur, they tend to be similar in presentation in all age groups with loss of appetite, nausea, an inflamed and tender liver, and jaundice being typical. Fatigue can be severe in some patients, and persist long after the other complaints have resolved, which usually takes one to three months. Some patients will also develop more significant systemic symptoms consisting of muscle and joint pain, hive-like rashes, and tender swollen lymph nodes.
Most patients over the age of five years who are acutely infected with HBV will clear the virus and go on to benefit from lifelong immunity. But almost 90% of infants and 25%-50% of children between the ages of one and five years will not be so lucky. In contrast, 95% of older children and adults will fight off the virus during the initial exposure. The ability to fight off the virus clearly improves with age. The younger the patient, the more likely they will develop chronic infection and be at risk for devastating future complications.
How Do I Get Vitamin K For My Baby
During your pregnancy your doctor or midwife will talk to you about vitamin K, including the pros and cons of giving your baby vitamin K by injection or by mouth. Your doctor or midwife will then note this on your file. Your baby will receive vitamin K soon after birth by a doctor or a midwife, based on your decision.
If you have chosen to give your baby vitamin K by mouth then your baby will need to receive 2 more doses after the dose they receive at birth. The second dose can be given in hospital at the same time as your baby has their newborn screening test, or by your local doctor or healthcare worker. It is important to remember to arrange your babys third dose when they are 4 weeks old. This important final dose can also be given by your doctor or health care worker.
If you are having a home birth, be sure to discuss giving your baby vitamin K with your midwife. Homebirth midwives are required to have all essential equipment available for a planned home birth, including vitamin K injections.
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Who Should Not Get The Hepatitis B Vaccine
Hepatitis B is a safe vaccine that does not contain a live virus.
However, there are some circumstances in which doctors advise against getting the HBV vaccine.
You should not receive the hepatitis B vaccine if:
- youve had a serious allergic reaction to a previous dose of the hepatitis B vaccine
- you have a history of hypersensitivity to yeast or any other HBV vaccine components
What Are Immunizations
Immunizations save lives. They are the best way to help protect you or your child from certain infectious diseases. They also help reduce the spread of disease to others and prevent epidemics. Most are given as shots. They are sometimes called vaccines, or vaccinations.
In many cases when you get a vaccine, you get a tiny amount of a weakened or dead form of the organism that causes the disease. This amount is not enough to give you the actual disease. But it is enough to cause your immune system to make antibodies that can recognize and attack the organism if you are ever exposed to it.
Sometimes a vaccine does not completely prevent the disease, but it will make the disease much less serious if you do get it.
Some immunizations are needed only one time. Others require several doses over time to help your body be able to fight the disease .
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How Safe Are Vaccines
False claims in the news have made some parents concerned about a link between autism and the shot for measles, mumps, and rubella. But studies have found no link between vaccines and autism.
Some parents question whether mercury-containing thimerosal might cause autism. Studies have not found a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism. Today, all routine childhood vaccines made for the U.S. contain either no thimerosal or only trace amounts.
Two major government agencies, along with vaccine makers and other groups, watch for, study, and keep track of adverse events that occur after vaccines are given.
Hepatitis B Vaccine For Newborn: Is It Really Necessary
All newborns should receive the hepatitis B vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
All children should receive three doses at the recommended intervals as part of the Singapore National Childhood Immunisation Schedule . Infants should receive their first dosage at birth, and they should finish the series by 6 months of age, though occasionally it may take longer.
Giving your infant the shot at birth and finishing the entire series ensures that you wont ever have to worry that your baby will contract the hepatitis B virus. The vaccination provides lifetime protection.
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Are Hepatitis B Virus Infections Easily Avoided
Large quantities of hepatitis B virus are present in the blood of people with hepatitis B in fact, as many as one billion infectious viruses can be found in a milliliter of blood from an infected individual. Therefore, hepatitis B virus is transmitted in the blood of infected individuals during activities that could result in exposure to blood, such as intravenous drug use, tattooing, or sex with people who are infected. However, it is also possible to catch hepatitis B virus through more casual contact, such as sharing washcloths, toothbrushes or razors. In each of these cases, unseen amounts of blood can contain enough viral particles to cause infection. In addition, because many people who are infected don’t know that they are infected, it is very hard to avoid the chance of getting infected with hepatitis B virus.
How Well Is The Hepatitis B Vaccine Tolerated
The hepatitis B vaccine is well tolerated. There are no known severe side effects in healthy people.
But the vaccine isnt suitable for people
- who have an acute illness that is associated with a high fever or needs to be treated. For instance, people shouldnt be vaccinated if they have the flu. They can have the vaccine later instead.
- who had an overly sensitive reaction to a previous hepatitis B vaccination.
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Cons Of Hepatitis B Vaccine Newborn
1. There have been no studies to establish the safety of hepatitis B vaccine newborns in pregnant women and their babies. The vaccine contains an aluminum adjuvant, which increases the risk of damage to kidneys and brain that can lead to Premature births or fetal abnormalities .
2. The vaccine contains yeast protein, which is a common cause of allergy in children and adults , despite the fact that this possibility is rarely mentioned when hepatitis B vaccine newborn is recommended to pregnant women.
3. There is no evidence that giving a hepatitis B vaccine to newborns can protect babies from acquiring hepatitis B disease because infection with the hepatitis B virus is not prevented by vaccination .
4. The newborn who received the hepatitis B vaccine may be falsely protected against HBV infection the possibility that the incubation period for hepatitis B will be lengthened should cause concern .
5. Maternal antibodies could interfere with the immunogenicity of the vaccine, but this interference is not predictable in all newborns .
6. It can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome weeks after vaccination , an autoimmune disorder characterized by temporary paralysis that occurs in approximately 1 out of 100,000 people who receive hepatitis B vaccine .
7. It is not effective in preventing hepatitis B virus transmission by infants born to infected mothers .
Everything You Need To Know About Vaccinations
Vaccines definition
The bodys immune system helps protect against pathogens that cause infection. Most of the time, its an efficient system. It either keeps microorganisms out or tracks them down and gets rid of them.
However, some pathogens can overwhelm the immune system. When this happens, it can cause serious illness.
The pathogens most likely to cause problems are the ones the body doesnt recognize. Vaccination is a way to teach the immune system how to recognize and eliminate an organism. That way, your body is prepared if youre ever exposed.
Vaccinations are an important form of primary prevention. That means they can protect people from getting sick. Vaccinations have allowed us to control diseases that once threatened many lives, such as:
Its important that as many people as possible get vaccinated. Vaccinations dont just protect individuals. When enough people are vaccinated, it helps protect society.
This occurs through herd immunity. Widespread vaccinations make it less likely that a susceptible person will come into contact with someone who has a particular disease.
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Pros Of Hepatitis B Vaccine
1. The hepatitis B vaccine for newborns reduces mother-to-child HBV transmission by more than 95 percent if given within 12 hours after birth and two additional doses at one month and six months later .
2. It prevents vertical transmission of the hepatitis B virus from infected mothers to their babies.
3. This vaccine reduces the incidence and severity of acute and chronic hepatitis B in children and adults: it decreases the mortality rate by 25 percent and three times as many people become chronically infected with hepatitis B after infection than before the introduction of the vaccination programs at birth .
4. It prevents chronic carrier state among infants born to infected mothers who are already chronically infected with HBV at the time of delivery .
5. Hepatitis B vaccine prevents the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
6. It prevents HBV in children in daycare centers, hospitals, communities, and schools .
7. This vaccine for newborns is inexpensive compared with the cost of treating hepatitis B complications. The cost per life saved for routine vaccination against hepatitis B virus is about US$ 350 per capita in countries that have already introduced routine vaccination programs. Treatment of one case of liver cancer costs more than US$ 100,000 .
8. It is safe and the only contraindication is an anaphylactic reaction to yeast .
Hepatitis B Vaccination For Children With Infected Mothers
The World Health Organization stands firm in its recommendation for infants to receive their Hepatitis B vaccine. It doesnt matter if the mother is tested positive for Hepatitis B or not.
But what happens if the mom has a Hepatitis B infection? How about babies whose moms are at higher risk of Hepatitis B because of their certain jobs or lifestyle?
The newborn infant will still receive his first dose of the HepB vaccine. He will also undergo post vaccination serologic testing. It is to test the babys immunity and response to the vaccine. He will also receive an additional medicine called Hepatitis B Immune Globulin . It will reinforce the HepB vaccine with antibodies to give the child a better immune resistance to the virus. The HBIg contains a large amount of Hepatitis B antibodies that comes from donated human blood.
If the post-testing shows a positive response after the third dose, it indicates that the baby is already protected. Otherwise, he will receive an additional three-dose series of the vaccine and another retesting.
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