Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is caused by the virus hepatitis A (HAV) and is usually transmitted due to unhygienic practices and living conditions. This virus is transmitted between people by the oral fecal route. This is precisely the reason why the occurrence of this disease is more prevalent in underdeveloped and developing countries than the advanced ones. Good living conditions and proper hygienic habits go a long way in controlling the spread of this disease. Hepatitis A vaccine is available for people of all ages but for children below the age of one, licensed hepatitis A vaccine is not available. Presently there are four licensed anti hepatitis A vaccines available in the international market.

The hepatitis A vaccine is an inactivated vaccine and is administered intra muscularly. Administration of the hepatitis A vaccine is usually done twice per session and this is followed by another dosage six months later. The gap between the first and second dosage might vary from maker to maker of these vaccines. A single dosage of the hepatitis A vaccine is enough to produce enough HAV antibodies within a month in the administered patient’s body.  A booster dosage of the hepatitis A vaccine is recommended after a gap of ten years but this is not compulsory.  It should be noted here that the hepatitis A vaccine is not recommended to children below one year of age and the contra indications for the majority of the people who have been administered this vaccine is mild to negligible. The world health organization has successfully administered the hepatitis A vaccine to millions of people all over the world thereby making significant progress in controlling the spread of this disease.