Vaccines Against Hbv

The disease of the Hepatitis B causes the inflammation of the liver. The disease is caused due to the Hepatitis B virus. The virus was originally known as the serum hepatitis. The population of the world that is currently infected by this disease is 3% to 6%. The normal symptoms of the disease are acute illness liver inflammation, vomiting, jaundice and in rare conditions death. The Chronic Hepatitis B sometimes causes liver cirrhosis leading to liver cancer.

Hepatitis B usually gets cured on its own. But it also causes chronic infection.

The Hepatitis B can spread due to the following reasons.

1. The disease spreads because of unprotected sex with an infected person

2. The most unsafe spreading of the disease that also proves to be the most dangerous is sharing of needles for drugs, tattooing or piercing.

3. Coming in contact with the persons open sores, or blood also causes Hepatitis B

4. Things like sharing of tooth brushes, biting another person, sharing razors or nail clippers also causes Hepatitis B

Many vaccines have been developed against the disease of Hepatitis B. These vaccines are developed from the plasma of the patients who had a long standing history of the disease. The vaccine is made up of viral envelop protein that is hepatitis B surface antigen or HBsAg. However currently these vaccines are made using the recombinant DNA. Today both the vaccines are being used and have been proved to be safe and successful.

Nations all over the world include the vaccine against Hepatitis B in the regular immunization program. Infants born to the HBeAg positive mothers are vaccinated with immune globulin after birth so as to prevent the infection. In case of health workers the vaccination after five to ten years is recommended.

The vaccine has proved to be very effective. In the areas having the risk of spread of disease immunization of the newborns has helped a great deal. This has also led to a noticeable drop in the rate of liver cancer.

A famous essay by the noted author Amartya Sen, titled “More that 100 million women are missing”, states that in the year 1982 due to the vaccine the male-female birth ratio was lowered.

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