Hepatitis B vaccine considered for all adults

Viral hepatitis remains a health risk, although vaccines are available and effective. How best to use these vaccines remains under discussion.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Sept. 26, 2005.

Washington -- Many in the health community believe the time is right to broaden the assault against hepatitis B, and they hope to persuade the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to recommend its vaccine for all adults.

The committee is scheduled to discuss the vaccine during its Oct. 26-27 meeting, but a draft revision of its HBV recommendations, the first revision in 14 years, continues to endorse a risk-based vaccination strategy that targets people in prison, men who have sex with men and people with multiple sex partners.

The committee may also consider lowering the age for administering the hepatitis A vaccine to reflect the arrival on the market of a new vaccine approved for children as young as 1 year old. The vaccine had previously been used only for children age 2 and older.

The prevention of viral hepatitis is still a major public health challenge. Despite effective vaccines for hepatitis A and B, both continue to be among the most commonly reported vaccine-preventable diseases in the nation, according to the CDC.

There have been major gains made in the fight against hepatitis A, thanks to its routine inclusion in the childhood vaccination schedule. Still, hepatitis B cases have not registered as sharp a decline, despite the fact that its vaccination is also recommended for all children.

For example, the number of cases of hepatitis A in the nation dropped from 31,000 in 1996, or nearly 12 cases for every 100,000 people, to 7,650 cases in 2003, or 2.6 cases for every 100,000 people. During the same period, the number of hepatitis B cases dropped from 10,637, or 4 cases per 100,000, to 7,526, or 2.6 cases per 100,000.