Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is best prevented by vaccination. The following groups who are at highest risk for contracting hepatitis B should be vaccinated:

• Individuals requiring repeated transfusions of blood and blood products
• Patients who have natural or acquired immune deficiency e.g. HIV, or cancer patients.
• Patients with kidney failure who require dialysis.
• Healthcare workers.
• Intravenous drug abusers, homosexuals and commercial sex workers
• Individuals living in areas where the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B is high e.g. Southeast Asia.
• Offspring of women who are hepatitis B carriers.
• Spouses and other sexual contacts of hepatitis B carriers.
• Laboratory workers dealing with blood or serum samples.

Side-effects of vaccines are rare and include local soreness at the injection site, mild fever, malaise but extremely infrequently may cause swelling of the lymph nodes (glands in the neck, groin, armpits ), and abnormalities of the nervous system.

The vaccine is administered at time 0,1 and 6 months. However, before one gets vaccinated, one should check oneself for the immune status. Only those who are non-immune to hepatitis B and not carriers should be vaccinated.