The World Health Organization (WHO) is marking the fifth annual World Hepatitis Day, today, with the theme "Prevent Hepatitis. Act Now". Events in China and around the world will raise awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis.
In China, an estimated 90 million people carry the Hepatitis B virus, while 28 million of them suffer from the disease chronically. Most patients were infected with the virus during childhood. In line with the theme of this year's World Hepatitis Day, Lei Zhenglong, Deputy Director of China's Center for Disease Control, says early prevention and vaccinations are priorities in the country's fight against the disease.
"We believe Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccinations are the most economic and effective ways to prevent the diseases. We need to maintain a high vaccination coverage rate to ensure a strong public immunity barrier."
China expanded its immunization programs to include Hepatitis B vaccinations in 2002, providing free shots for all new-born babies. Since then, about 200 million children have received the vaccinations, bringing the coverage rate to 95%. Statistics show that the infection rate of the disease among Chinese children has dropped significantly since the measure took effect.
Many newborns in China are infected by their mothers who carry the Hepatitis B virus. China began addressing the issue in 2010 by offering these babies injections of hepatitis B immune globulin, in addition to the regular vaccinations.
This added measure has been shown to prevent 97% of babies born to infected mothers from contracting the virus.
In recent years, severe side effects and even deaths brought on by Hepatitis B vaccinations in China have caused some worries about the safety of the preventative measure. Addressing these concerns, Wang Huaqing, Deputy Director of the National Immunization Program at China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, says the public needs not to worry about the safety of the vaccinations.
" We have been monitoring the side effects of the Hepatitis B vaccinations since 2005. Most negative effects were due to hypersensitivity in individual cases. Occurrences of anaphylactic shocks are extremely low, less than the rate of one in a million. Both global and our national monitoring results show that Hepatitis B vaccination is among the safest of all available vaccinations."
The upcoming World Hepatitis Day will be marked in China with free seminars, testing clinics and other events hosted by health institutions across the country. According to the World Hepatitis Alliance, co-coordinator of the World Hepatitis Day with the WHO, 157 countries participated in the event in 2014. The date of 28 July was chosen to honor the birthday of Nobel Laureate Professor Baruch Samuel Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus.
