Hepatitis B vaccination Lower Risk of Death Due to Liver Cancer

Hepatitis B vaccination Lower Risk of Death Due to Liver CancerResearchers from Taiwan showed a reduction in mortality by 90 percent due to complications from Hepatitis B since the state of Taiwan applying the infant vaccination program in 1984.Importance of 

Hepatitis B Vaccination

B Vaksinasi hepatitis vaccination has also lowered the prevalence of hepatitis B can cause liver damage , liver cancer , and deadly reactions in infants termed fulminant hepatitis , the researchers said . " Immunization has provided protection for 30 - years against the threat of acute hepatitis and end-stage of chronic liver disease , including cirrhosis and liver cancer , " said lead researcher , Chien - Jen Chen .

Research Findings are GlobalChen said there are approximately 350 million chronic carriers of hepatitis B worldwide , with the highest prevalence in the Asia - Pacific and sub- Saharan Africa . The infection can be spread from mother to newborn .

" All the newborns in areas with high prevalence should be vaccinated to reduce the risk of heart disease and health care costs , " he said . The report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Sept. 4 edition .

According to the Hepatitis B Foundation , about 12 million Americans ( one out of every 20 people ) have been infected with this disease . In addition , more than 1 million people are chronically infected and up to 100,000 " new people " infected each year . The foundation estimates that 5,000 people in the U.S. die each year from hepatitis B and its complications . The new findings add to a deeper conviction of the need for vaccination , said an expert in the United States .

" This is an ' exclamation point ' of what we already know , where the baby should be vaccinated against hepatitis B , " said Dr. Marc Siegel , an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center , New York . " Vaccination of infants with hepatitis B vaccine is highly effective in reducing chronic infection and liver cancer by 50 percent of those who suffer from hepatitis B , " said Siegel .

In addition , vaccination will build herd immunity because fewer people are infected , thereby reducing the spread of the disease in the community . According to Siegel , everyone should be vaccinated against this virus , ranging from infants to adults . " The hepatitis B vaccine is safe to do . The disease is scary , while the vaccine did not , " he said .

In this study , Chen and his team of researchers looked at the results of the immunization program for 30 years in Taiwan . In the first two years , immunization program only covers newborns of mothers who carry the disease ( hepatitis B ) . Later the program was expanded to all newborns as a whole .In July 1987, the vaccination was expanded again to include the children of pre - school . 

 Between 1988 and 1999 , the program has expanded to include all primary school children . The rate of vaccination against those born in 1984-2010 was about 89 percent to 97 percent , the researchers said .For those who were born between 1977 and 2004 , mortality decreased by 90 percent as a result of chronic liver disease and liver cancer , and there are 80 percent fewer cases of liver cancer as a whole . Infant mortality due to fulminant hepatitis B also dropped by 90 percent .

Spread of Hepatitis BHepatitis B is spread through blood , semen , or other body fluids that are infected by the virus . The virus then enters the body of an uninfected person . Infection can be transmitted to infants of infected mothers .

Hepatitis B virus can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse with an infected person , sharing needles and injection equipment other medicines . Sharing razors or toothbrushes with an infected person are also at risk in transmitting the disease , as well as direct contact with the blood or open sores of an infected person .