Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a potentially deadly infection of the liver that kills about 500,000 to 700,000 people each year, mostly in developing countries. The virus is spread perinatally from an infected mother to her infant at birth, from child to child, through unsafe injections and blood transfusions, and through sexual contact. Currently, there is no effective treatment for the disease. Hepatitis B vaccines have been shown to be about 95 percent protective against the disease when used correctly.
Hepatitis B resources on the Vaccine Resource Library were mainly gathered during PATH’s Children’s Vaccine Program, which conducted activities with hepatitis B vaccine from 2001 to 2006 in Vietnam and Cambodia. For additional resources, visit the hepatitis page on the World Health Organization website.
More about hepatitis B | View resources on hepatitis B
Key resources
Hepatitis B Immunization Strategies: Timing is Everything (2009)
An article that reviews the evidence for long-term effectiveness of vaccination against hepatitis B for infants and adolescents.
A Heat-Stable Hepatitis B Vaccine Formulation (2009)
An article that discusses a study to develop a formulation of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine with improved stability at elevated temperatures.
Featured PATH resources
More About Hepatitis B (2012)
A web page that provides links to information about PATH's work on hepatitis B, information about the disease, and a snapshot of the current vaccine landscape.
Protecting Newborns From Hepatitis B in Vietnam: Expanding Coverage of the Hepatitis B Vaccine Birth Dose (2012)
A fact sheet that describes PATH's project to increase the coverage and timeliness of hepatitis B birth dose vaccination in Vietnam.
Page last updated: November 2012.
