Viral Hepatitis

What is it?
Viral hepatitis, an infection of the liver caused by a virus, causes up to 15,000 deaths each year in the United States. Two types of viral hepatitis are vaccine-preventable — hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Hepatitis C is not vaccine preventable.

Hepatitis A is the most common type of hepatitis reported in the United States. It is transmitted through person-to-person contact or the ingestion of contaminated food or water. Hospitalization rates for hepatitis A are 11% - 22%, and persons who become ill lose an average of 27 days from work.

Hepatitis B is transmitted primarily through infected blood or body fluids, and is approximately 100 times more contagious than HIV, the virus that causes AIDs. Hepatitis B is the second leading cause of cancer, behind tobacco, and the leading cause of liver cancer in the United States.

Hepatitis C is less common than hepatitis A or hepatitis B, but more likely to cause chronic liver problems for persons who are infected. Transmitted primarily through infected blood, most hepatitis C cases are attributed to illegal injection drug use. Some transfusion-associated cases occurred prior to blood donor screening, but now occur less than one per million transfused unit of blood.

Symptoms of viral hepatitis include fever, nausea, vomiting, malaise, and jaundice (yellow skin and eyes); however, many people with viral hepatitis have no symptoms and can unknowingly infect others.

Who should be vaccinated?
Hepatitis A vaccination consists of a series of two injections and is recommended for persons 2 years of age and older at risk, including:

• Persons traveling or working in countries with high or intermediate prevalence of hepatitis A
• Persons with chronic liver disease
• Men who have sex with men
• Illicit drug users

Hepatitis B vaccination consists of a series of three injections and is recommended for everyone 18 years and younger, and adults at risk, including:

• Healthcare and public safety workers who might be exposed to infected blood or body fluids
• Persons traveling for 6 months or longer to areas with high or intermediate prevalence of hepatitis B (go to www.cdc.gov/travel for list of countries)
• Household contacts of persons with chronic hepatitis B
• Hemodialysis patients
• Persons who engage in high-risk sexual activities and/or use illegal injected drugs

For persons who wish to be protected against both hepatitis A and hepatitis B, a combination vaccine, trade-name Twinrix®, is available as a series of three injections.

For more information about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases, talk to your healthcare provider or visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/nip.

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