KOCHI: In this era of scientific advancement, vaccination is one of the greatest triumphs in the area of public health. As World Hepatitis Day approaches, it is imperative to highlight the importance of vaccination against hepatitis: a preventable and potentially life-threatening disease affecting millions of people worldwide.
Hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, is caused by a variety of infections and non-infectious agents like alcohol. There are five different strains of hepatitis viruses, namely A, B, C, D, and E, of which Hepatitis B and C are the most dangerous.
According to the fact sheets of the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 354 million people live worldwide with Hepatitis B or C infection, and 1.5 million new infections happen every year. Hepatitis B infection spreads through unsafe injections, person-to-person contact via infected body fluids, and from mother to child during childbirth. The virus can survive outside the human body for about seven days, and it is 50-100 times more infectious than HIV.
Acute Hepatitis B infection may go unnoticed initially or can present symptoms like fever, jaundice, vomiting, abdominal pain, etc. Approximately 5 per cent of those infected fail to eliminate the virus from their bodies and become chronically ill.
Such chronic infection is a leading precursor for liver cancer and cirrhosis, and it can also facilitate the transmission of the virus to others. However, 95 per cent of childhood Hepatitis B becomes chronic, especially if the infection occurs before five years of age. Hence, childhood Hepatitis B needs ardent attention and has long-term impacts on disease prevalence in the community.
This is why the universal strategy of vaccinating all babies at birth is implemented, and the onus is on completing the prescribed vaccination schedule. The hepatitis B vaccination is 98-100 per cent effective, and safe, and the immunity lasts for many years.
Hepatitis A is a virus that spreads through contaminated food and water or direct contact with an infected person. Though it doesn’t cause chronic infection and the symptoms usually resolve in a few days, a small proportion of patients can develop rapidly progressing liver failure. Additionally, it can spread from child to child in close-contact settings.
Improved sanitation, handling food hygienically, safe drinking water, and immunisation are the strategies to combat Hepatitis A. This virus is inactivated by temperatures over 85 degrees Celsius for 1 minute, but cooked food can get contaminated later. Effective chlorination of drinking water inactivates the virus. Hepatitis A vaccines offer more than 95 per cent protection in children.
Hepatitis is undeniably a serious disease with potentially devastating consequences for individuals and communities alike. However, it is crucial to recognise that this condition is largely preventable with the implementation of appropriate preventive measures, particularly vaccination.
The writer is a consultant at the department of pediatrics, KIMSHEALTH Trivandrum