By the fourth quarter of this year, Ghana will begin the administration of Hepatitis B Birth Dose (HepB- BD) from birth up to two weeks after delivery.

 

The Hepatitis B birth dose vaccine is expected to interrupt mother-to-child and early childhood transmission of the Hepatitis B Virus (HPV) as the progression to chronic infection is inversely related to age at infection.

 

Dr. Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, the Programme Manager, Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), said Hep B infections continued to pose a public health challenge and stakeholders support would be required to make the roll out a success.

 

Speaking at a National Hepatitis B Birth Dose stakeholder forum in Accra on Wednesday, he noted that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) would use the existing EPI structures to introduce the HepB-BD in its routine immunisation programme.

 

The forum brought together managers, directors, non-governmental and civil society organisations in health to discuss effective ways to roll out the vaccine.

 

Dr. Amponsa-Achiano said the HepB vaccine had been reviewed multiple times and had no association with leukemia, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis.

 

Ghana has a high Hepatitis B infection rate among pregnant women at 9.1 per cent, with children born to infected mothers having a higher infection rate compared to those born to uninfected mothers.

 

He said 90 per cent of perinatal Hepatitis B infections progress to chronic infection, and up to 85 per cent of adults who acquired it during childhood may die from liver-related complications.

 

 

“The vaccination will be administered within the first 24 hours of birth with a catch-up policy allowing children who miss the initial dose to receive it within two weeks after delivery,” he said.

 

Dr. Amponsa-Achiano said presently, the country administered the Hepatitis B vaccine only as a component of the pentavalent vaccine given at six, 10, and 14 weeks after birth.

 

The addition of the birth dose will complete the World Health Organisation recommended schedule of three doses minimum.

 

The Programme Manager called for continued advocacy, community education, and support from internal and external partners to ensure the successful rollout of the Hepatitis B birth dose.

 

Dr. Samuel Akoriyea Kaba, the Director-General, GHS, said the vaccine roll out was a “a long-awaited intervention” that promises to transform lives and strengthen public health systems.

 

While Ghana introduced the pentavalent vaccine, which included protection against hepatitis B in 2002, it had taken over two decades to make the Hepatitis B birth dose a reality.

 

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that affects the liver. It can cause acute (short-term) or chronic(long-term) illness.

 

In Ghana, nearly one in 10 persons have hepatitis B, but most people with the infection do not show symptoms until the liver is badly damaged.

 

One must be tested to know if he or she has hepatitis B.

 

Newborns and children are especially vulnerable as their bodys defense system cannot fight the virus.