Viral hepatitis is considered the most common and dangerous disease in the world. The severity of the disease, its duration and consequences are impossible to predict.
The worst thing here is that any liver pathology affects all internal organs and systems, posing a serious threat to life. The most dangerous hepatitis are viruses of the group and.
If most people suffer from hepatitis A (Botkin's disease) in childhood, and this disease does not pose a great danger, then other types of viruses have a much worse effect on the body. Hepatitis C or B, if not treated in a timely manner, becomes chronic, leading to the complete destruction of liver cells. Today, more than 25% of the population is infected with the B virus.
What is hepatitis B?
Always ensure that instruments that come into contact with blood are sterile
Hepatitis B is one of the viral lesions of the liver, and the virus is located in all physiological fluids of the human body. Infection mainly occurs through the blood, but it can also occur when saliva, semen or urine comes into contact with any open wounds or abrasions on the skin.
In addition, you can get the virus during surgery, as well as in beauty salons, dental offices, and tattoo parlors. It is also possible that infection can occur at home, when using the same personal hygiene items.
There are many cases where infection occurred through donor blood transfusion or reuse of syringes. Often, transmission of the virus occurs through sexual contact, kissing, and also during pregnancy (from woman to child).
More often the disease occurs in an acute form, gradually becoming chronic. It happens that a person is not aware of the presence of the virus, because the disease is asymptomatic. The incubation period can last up to six months, and the person does not experience any discomfort, but is already a source of spread of the virus.
Penetrating into the body, the virus integrates into the liver cells and begins to destroy them from the inside. After a short time, the infected cells begin to destroy all healthy cells in the body, and this phenomenon is called an autoimmune reaction.
At the very beginning of the development of the disease, a person experiences general malaise, weakness, loss of appetite and nausea. A little later, these symptoms are supplemented by severe pain in the right hypochondrium, yellowing of the skin, and heaviness in the stomach after eating.
The patient’s urine darkens and the stool becomes white, bruises appear on the body for no reason, the temperature rises and the pressure decreases. Unfortunately, such symptoms appear too late, at the final stage of pathology development. This makes diagnosis difficult, treatment is delayed, and the sick person contributes to the rapid spread of the disease.
What is hepatitis B in adults?
Hepatitis B virus disease is a wide range of disease conditions determined by the activity of the virus itself and the response of the human immune system to its introduction. After the virus enters the body, bypassing the acute phase of hepatitis B, which usually lasts about six months, the pathological process can enter the chronic stage.
Further, there may be several scenarios for the development of events: someone is simply a carrier of the virus without the formation of inflammation in the liver, that is, hepatitis. The virus lives in liver cells, does not multiply very intensively and does not cause aggression towards liver cells. Fortunately, in our country there are a majority of such people with the hepatitis B virus.
The essence and duration of action of the vaccine
Adults receive an injection into the shoulder muscle
Vaccination is carried out only against two types of virus - B and A, and there are several types of vaccines. The vaccination is given to both children and adults intramuscularly. For children, the injection is given in the outer part of the thigh, and for adults - only in the shoulder muscles. The vaccine is not injected into the buttock, which is due to the deep location of the muscle tissue.
Each drug has its own regimen and schedule of use. There should be at least 3-4 such vaccinations, depending on the choice of vaccine. On average, the vaccine is valid for 10-20 years, after which revaccination is required.
For each person, the number of hepatitis vaccinations, the drug and the timing of revaccination are selected individually. Only health workers are vaccinated every 5 years, as they are at risk. The essence of the vaccine is that surface antigens of the virus produced by recombinant yeast fungi are introduced into the body.
The resulting protein (antigen) is purified from foreign impurities, some additional components are added and injected intramuscularly. When ingested, antigens provoke the production of antibodies that protect the body from possible infection. As soon as the virus enters the blood, the immune defense is triggered, destroying harmful cells, preventing them from developing.
How is adult hepatitis different from childhood hepatitis?
As a pathological process, hepatitis does not differ much. After infection, the virus often leaves the body, leaving behind immune memory - protective antibodies that in the future protect a person from re-infection.
“The difference between an adult and a child encountering the hepatitis B virus for the first time is that infection in childhood - especially in infancy - is most likely to lead to the development of a chronic form of the disease, while adults have a higher chance of getting rid of the virus on their own, — Maria Matsievich clarifies. — Thus, there is an inverse relationship: the older the person, the more likely self-healing is. That’s why the first vaccination after a baby is born is the hepatitis B vaccine.”
Contraindications
Vaccination is contraindicated for premature babies
Like any drug, the hepatitis vaccine has its contraindications. An absolute contraindication for vaccination is an allergy to baker's yeast, with which this vaccine is obtained.
Vaccinations are not given in the following cases:
- hepatitis virus infection;
- condition after chemotherapy;
- any cancer, AIDS;
- prematurity (baby weight up to 2 kg);
- meningitis.
A relative contraindication to the procedure is considered to be a period of exacerbation of chronic pathologies, the presence of a cold or ARVI. In this case, vaccination is carried out after complete recovery or stabilization of the condition.
Vaccination schedules
According to the established schedule, the first vaccination is given to the child in the maternity hospital, immediately after birth. The second – a month later, and the third – six months after birth. A slightly different schedule applies to children born to an infected mother.
This will require four injections, given at different intervals. The first two injections are given as usual, i.e. at birth and a month later, and then the scheme changes. The third injection is given at 2 months of age, and the fourth at one year of age. Immunity to the disease with this schedule will last for 10 years, after which revaccination is required.
There is also an emergency vaccination scheme, in which 4 vaccinations are given at once, with an interval of 7, 21 and 365 days. Any of the above schemes allows a person to develop stable immunity to the virus. Accelerated vaccination of 4 injections allows you to protect the body from the disease for a long time, but provided that the fourth injection is given no later than 12 months after the first.
You absolutely cannot skip vaccination, and if this happens, you should get vaccinated as quickly as possible. Missing the next injection for a long time requires consultation with a qualified specialist about further actions.
Ideally, adults should be vaccinated against hepatitis once every 10 years, until the age of 55. To determine the need for vaccination, you need to be tested for the presence of antibodies to the virus. If this figure is less than 10 units/l, then vaccination will have to be done. If there is a sufficient amount of antibodies to the antigen in the blood, vaccination cannot be done, since this indicates that infection has already occurred.
Principles and purposes of vaccination
About 780,000 people die every year from the consequences of hepatitis B. Vaccination is not only the main and important means of preventing viral hepatitis. It may also protect against primary liver cancer. The basis for preventing hepatitis B is the vaccine against this disease. WHO recommends that all infants should receive hepatitis B vaccination as soon as possible after birth, preferably within 24 hours. The dose given at birth should be followed by two or three subsequent doses to complete the vaccination series. In most cases, one of the following two options is considered optimal:
- a three-dose hepatitis B vaccination regimen, in which the first dose (of monovalent vaccine) is given at birth, and the second and third doses (of monovalent or combination vaccine) are given at the same time as the first and third doses of DPT vaccine;
- A four-dose regimen in which the first dose of monovalent vaccine given at birth is followed by 3 doses of monovalent or combination vaccine, usually given along with other vaccines as part of routine childhood immunization, is indicated for children born to mothers infected or with hepatitis B.
After a full series of vaccinations, more than 95% of infants, children of other age groups and young adults develop protective antibody levels. Protection lasts for at least 20 years and possibly a lifetime. All previously unvaccinated children and adolescents under 18 years of age should receive the vaccine if they live in countries with low or moderate endemicity. By the end of 2013, hepatitis B vaccine for infants had been introduced nationally in 183 countries. Global coverage of three doses of hepatitis B vaccine is estimated at 81%, and for Western Pacific countries it reaches 92%.
Composition of hepatitis B vaccines. How safe are they?
Engerix vaccine
There are many preparations for vaccination, but they all have approximately the same composition, including surface viral protein, traces of yeast, aluminum hydroxide and a preservative. The children's vaccine contains half as much protein as the adult vaccine. The drugs are available in different dosages - from 0.5 ml to 1 ml. Children under 18 years of age are administered 0.5 ml of solution at a time, and adults - 1 ml.
Both domestic vaccines (Microgen, Combiotech) and foreign ones (Biovac-V, Eberbiovak-NV, Engerix, Gene Vac-V) are used. They have absolutely the same composition and effect on the body. Often, doctors can use multicomponent vaccines that include antigens for several diseases at once. Thus, there are drugs against hepatitis B and A, as well as against hepatitis B, diphtheria and tetanus.
Over the entire history of the procedure, no special negative reactions were recorded. The only controversial issue remains the presence of a preservative containing mercury in all preparations, although its content does not exceed a thousandth of a gram.
In some European countries and America, such drugs are prohibited, but in Russia they have been used for quite a long time. Fortunately, today there are many latest generation vaccines that do not contain mercury preservative.
How does the vaccination procedure work?
Vaccination against hepatitis is considered mandatory and is carried out in any medical institution. Before receiving any vaccination, a person must be examined to ensure there is no exacerbation of chronic diseases.
A few days before vaccination, and a few days after, a person should not visit crowded places, drink alcohol or eat spicy foods. Within half an hour after the injection, the doctor should monitor the patient's condition. This is necessary so that in case of complications, emergency assistance can be quickly provided.
Find out from the video about the vaccination method:
Are there possible side effects from vaccination?
The hepatitis B vaccine is recognized as the safest in the world. That is why it is administered without fear to newborns in the first hours of life. Side effects sometimes include short-term pain in the arm after the injection. Allergic reactions are extremely rare, most of them are mild to moderate and can be easily controlled with antiallergic drugs.
“Associating vaccination against the hepatitis B virus with the development of serious systemic and autoimmune diseases, autism, neurological and other diseases is completely inappropriate: if you understand the mechanism of formation of protective antibodies, then “linking” this simple process to the development of the listed painful conditions will seem, at the very least, slander “- assures Maria Matsievich.
Possible complications
Despite the safety and effectiveness of modern vaccines, they can also cause complications. Most often, this reaction is caused by individual intolerance to the components of the drug that cause allergies. Complications occur extremely rarely and manifest themselves in the form of urticaria, skin rashes, swelling, and joint pain.
These symptoms may be accompanied by vomiting, difficulty breathing, and loss of consciousness. Such a reaction requires immediate intervention and emergency resuscitation measures. In addition, in 1-2% of cases, vaccinated people develop anaphylactic shock, meningitis, Quincke's edema, muscle paralysis, enlarged lymph nodes, and neuritis.
Vaccine effectiveness
The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. In 1982, vaccinations began to be used. Since then, more than 1,000,000,000 doses of vaccine against this disease have been administered worldwide.
Statistics show that vaccination has had an impact on reducing rates of chronic hepatitis among immunized people.
A course of immunization produces immunity in 90% of those vaccinated. Vaccinations can reduce the incidence of hepatitis by 30 times and prevent many deaths that occur due to hepatitis B. In addition, the risk of the disease in those born to infected mothers is reduced by 20 times.
Most researchers call the hepatitis B vaccine the "cancer vaccine." This is because it prevents the development of this infection, which can ultimately lead to carcinoma.
