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You can be reassured: hepatitis B is not a very common disease in babies. But even if the number of cases is less than 2% in France, the virus continues to circulate in the world population, in particular in certain countries of Africa and Southeast Asia. To date, around 350 million people worldwide carry the virus, which is transmitted through blood or sexual route. In order to protect our children, this vaccine has been compulsory in France for infants since January 1, 2018.
Why should my infant be vaccinated against hepatitis B?
The hepatitis B vaccine was recommended for children born before December 31, 2017 and is now mandatory for all babies born in France since January 1, 2018.
This vaccine is essential from the moment when baby is welcomed in a community (nursery or school). It is especially very important to carry out it as soon as possible with premature or newborns of a parent carrying the virus (they are said to carry the HBs antigen). The risk is that the child in turn becomes a chronic carrier because, for 90% of newborns and 30% of children infected under 5 years of age, the virus cannot be removed from their body. Men are more often carriers of the virus of hepatitis B than women. Parents of both sexes should therefore be tested, and not just the one who gives birth.
Hepatitis B under the microscope
The disease is transmitted through blood or sex. In infants, hepatitis B manifests itself primarily as jaundice. The signs of infection are therefore not very visible or even non-existent and contamination very frequent and rapid.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV or HBV): how long after birth can you vaccinate your newborn?
In general, vaccination against hepatitis B is based on three injections, which respect an interval of at least one month between the 1st and the 2nd dose, and an interval of between 5 and 12 months between the 2nd and the 3rd dose.
Parents can have their child immunized through a hexavalent vaccine, simultaneously protecting the young against 6 diseases (diphtheria / tetanus / whooping cough / polyomyelitis / haemophilus type b infection / hepatitis B), from the age of two months. This vaccination is done relatively early because, at this stage, the children respond very well to the vaccine. The level of antibodies obtained is high and, subsequently, their decrease remains slow.
If the classic vaccination schedule has not been followed, there is also a monovalent vaccine against hepatitis B which can be given later, in 3 injections in infancy or in 2 injections from the age of 11.
List: which vaccine is compulsory for my infant?
Since January 2018, there are 11 vaccines that are mandatory for newborns in France. These are vaccinations against:
- diphtheria, tetanus, polio (previously compulsory),
- whooping cough,
- invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b infections,
- hepatitis B,
- pneumococcal infections,
- invasive meningococcal serogroup C infections,
- measles, mumps and rubella
Children over 12 months residing in French Guiana must also must be vaccinated against yellow fever.
Vaccination against hepatitis B: specific cases
For newborns with one of the two parents carrying the hepatitis B virus, vaccination is done from birth, within 24 to 48 hours. Babies receive the 2nd dose of vaccine one month later, and the 3rd (which corresponds to the booster) at least 5 months later, so that the immune response develops well.
The premature babies under 32 weeks or weighing less than 2 kg will receive 4 doses of vaccine.
What are the risks and side effects of the hepatitis B vaccine?
Vaccination against hepatitis B is in the very large majority of cases perfectly supported. A local reaction (redness, pain, swelling) may occur within three days after the injection. Some cases of headache, fatigue or fever have been reported, but more in adults.
In the mid-1990s, a suspicion of a link between hepatitis B vaccination and cases of multiple sclerosis damaged confidence in this vaccine. All the studies carried out between 1996 and today have proved that the HBV vaccine did not increase the risk of multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune diseases. Moreover, the suspicion of a link has never concerned the vaccination of infants.