planetc1.com-news

Apparently there has been an outbreak of hepatitis B virus infection among male inmates. The article suggests that the hepatitis B virus is a liver infection that is typically transmitted through unprotected sex, injection drug use and the exposure to infected blood. Prisoners that are having unprotected sex are putting themselves at risk for infection of hepatitis b virus, according to the report.

From the 1997 CDC Prevention Guidelines: A Guide to Action...
"People at high risk for getting hepatitis B disease (which is transmitted by coming into direct contact with infected person's body fluids) are IV drug users, prostitutes, prisoners, sexually promiscuous persons and babies born to infected mothers."

Do your children fall into any of these categories? Why are some recommending hepatitis B vaccination for our children? If your thinking "early protection" read this statement from Merck and Company: "The duration of the protective effect of [the vaccine] in healthy vaccinees is unknown at present and the need for booster doses is not yet defined."

Perhaps it's because it is such a debilitating disease?
According to Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 90-95% of all hepatitis B cases recover completely after 3 to 4 weeks of nausea, fatigue, headache, arthritis, jaundice and tender liver.

Is it maybe because hepatitis B virus is so prevalent in U.S. society?
According to the National Vaccine Information Center (using data collected by the CDC), for 1996, there were 10,637 cases of hepatitis B reported in all of the U.S. with 279 cases reported to have occurred in the U.S. in children under 14 years old.

The Yahoo News article suggests that one of the barriers to administering the hepatitis B vaccine is cost. Who is to pay the bill when American prisoners are vaccinated regularly?

Yahoo News: Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommended for Inmates
Hepatitis B: The Disease & The Vaccine

Subscribe RSS: