Hepatitis B has been one of major infectious diseases threatening the health of citizens of our country.

In the report of legally defined infectious diseases for our city, the incidence of Hepatitis B has been in the top three positions. In 2007, the incidence of Hepatitis B in the whole city is 42.19/100000, and the patients infected by this disease reach 6,671. The Hepatitis B virus can damage the liver of a human, and is difficult to be eliminated from the body, thus the infected patient may gradually become a chronic virus carrier, and even worse, a patient with chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of liver, or liver cancer. Hepatitis B not only harms the people’s health, but also causes the serious psychological burden, which affects the normal work and life, and even the education and employment. Therefore, Hepatitis B is a major infectious disease that cannot be ignored.

Practice has proven that Hepatitis B vaccination can be used to prevent Hepatitis B. For example, Beijing Municipality began to gradually carry out the Hepatitis B vaccination for newly-born infants in 1990; the free Hepatitis B vaccination was brought into the children immunity plan in 2002; the policy on free Hepatitis B vaccination for children of migrant workers was issued in 2005. The implementation of these strategies strongly promotes the prevention of virus hepatitis and has made significant achievements. In recent ten years, the Hepatitis B vaccination rate for children under 10 years old in our city reaches over 98%, and the carrying rate of Hepatitis B virus decreases from 4.23% before the vaccination to less than 0.5% at present, with the decreasing rate reaching 87.3%. The incidence of Hepatitis B witnesses an obvious downward tendency, and is well above the per capital decreasing level in the whole city. Therefore, the control objective of <1% of carrying rate of hepatitis B surface antigen for children below 5 years stipulated in the 2006~2010 Planning on Prevention and Cure of Nationwide Hepatitis B with Virus was achieved in our country ahead of the schedule. In 2006, a seroepidemiology sampling survey on virus hepatitis of natural persons was carried out throughout the whole city. The results showed that, through the implementation and publicity of preventive measures such as Hepatitis B vaccination, the carrying rate of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for people in our city was 3.02%, which remarkably decreased from 1992 and was much lower than the national average of 7.18%. Therefore, the Hepatitis B vaccination is playing an important role in preventing the infection of Hepatitis B virus and reducing the incidence of Hepatitis B.

Which group of people should receive the Hepatitis B vaccination?

Firstly, the newly-born infants should be timely and strictly vaccinated against Hepatitis B in accordance with the requirements of the immunity plan, i.e. the first vaccination should be made within 24 hours after birth, and the second and third vaccinations one month and six months after birth respectively. Secondly, the most vulnerable group among the adults should also be vaccinated, including the HBsAg-positive patients’spouses and people who are in close contact with them，as well as those who are in close contact of the Hepatitis B patients. In addition, the medical staffs who often contact with Hepatitis B patients or the blood and secretion of patients should also be vaccinated against Hepatitis B.

After the vaccination against Hepatitis B, the antibodies against the Hepatitis B virus may be generated in the human body. When the body contacts the Hepatitis B virus again, antibodies in the human body can kill the virus coming into the body so as to protect the human body from being infected by Hepatitis B. The study shows that, after the vaccination against Hepatitis B, over 95% of the vaccinated people can generate the effective protection antibodies which can last for over 20 years.

Here, we remind that the people who have never been infected with Hepatitis B go to the standardized vaccination outpatient department designated by the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to vaccinate against Hepatitis B, so that they can obtain the perpetual immunity. For more information on where and how to vaccinate, please call the consultation hotline “12320”.