Hepatitis B - the Vaccine
A UK news report on 10th May 2005 stated "the British Medical Association is backing the government for Hepatitis B vaccine to be given to all babies from birth". The Department of Health estimates that 180,000 people in the UK are affected by Hepatitis B, of whom 96% contracted the disease abroad.
There is no need for parents to consider vaccinating babies with Hepatitis B vaccine unless they are in a high risk group. Adolescents must be counselled regarding the risk factors of unprotected sex, exposure to blood products and drug use. Safe sex will prevent most sexually transmitted diseases, including Hepatitis B and C.
Hepatitis B vaccine has been routinely used in the UK for health careworkers (e.g. nurses, haemodyalysis patients); and since 1991 in the USA and certain European countries, the Hepatitis B vaccine has been routinely given to all new-born babies. Hepatitis is not a childhood disease, so there is little justification for routine use in babies. This is a disease affecting adolescents, adults in high-risk groups, and babies born to mothers with Hepatitis B infection.
The standard vaccine is RECOMBIVAX® (Merck). A full course of the vaccine takes up to 6 months to complete.
A genetically-engineered version of the vaccine (ENGERIX-B®) grown on yeast cells has been available since 1990. This requires a series of 3 injections.
The protection conferred by the vaccine only lasts 5 years, so many booster doses will be needed before babies vaccinated reach the stage when they might genuinely be at risk from the disease.
TWINRIX® is a combination vaccine for Hepatitis strains A and B for people over 18 years (refer to http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis). TWINRIX® should not be administered to anyone with a hypersensitivity to yeast.
Vaccine contents of ENGERIX-B® (Glaxo SmithKline)
and RECOMBIVAX® (Merck)
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Side effects
Many side effects occur after just one dose of the vaccine, such as fever, headaches, vomiting, vertigo and convulsions. Neustader states that "the viral vaccines seem to be the most dangerous and reactive". Hepatitis B vaccine has a reputation for devastating adverse reactions such as:
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Approximately 3% of babies born to mothers who have been given Hepatitis B vaccine go on to develop a mutated form of Hepatitis B, caused by the vaccine.
In 1988, the New Zealand authorities began vaccinating new-born babies with Hepatitis B, but halted the programme following symptoms of ME and immune-system suppression. There were other rare side-effects which included abdominal cramps, arthralgia, paralysis, Bell's palsy, MS and anaphylactic shock.
In the USA between July 1990 and October 1998, 25,000 adverse events were reported following Hepatitis B vaccination. Overall, there were 146 deaths. Deaths of new-born babies after vaccination numbered 18. The average age of the babies who died was 12 days.
15,000 French citizens filed a law suit against the French government for understating the risks and overstating the benefits associated with Hepatitis B vaccine. Following Hepatitis B vaccination, hundreds of people were reported to have suffered from autoimmune and neurological disorders including MS. As a result of these moves, the French minister of health ended the mandatory programme of Hepatitis B vaccination for all schoolchildren, in October 1998. [Ref: http://www.thinktwice.com; http://www.informedchoice.info/cocktail]
Other reactions include:
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One of the more unusual reactions to Hepatitis vaccination is massive hair loss, affecting up to half the head, together with eyebrows and eyelashes.
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Autoimmune reactions; thrombocytopenic purpura.
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Arthritis following Hepatitis B vaccination is a well-recognised side effect.
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An association has been noted between diabetes in children and Hepatitis B vaccine (Neustader, New Zealand study 1988-1996); other studies have tried to disprove this, but the fact remains that the onset of diabetes (an autoimmune disease where the body attacks itself) can occur several years after vaccination.