Prevention of Hepatitis B

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Anyone who is at increased risk of being infected with the hepatitis B virus should consider being immunised.

Health Authorites and Trusts must ensure that all employed or contractal staff, who work with patients or blood/ body fluids are immunised against hepatis B and that their antibody response is checked.

People at risk include:

Those coming in contact with blood products e.g. nurses, doctors, dentists, medical laboratory workers, and prison wardens;
Sexual partners and close family contacts of an infected person;
Injecting drug users who share needles;
People who change sexual partners frequently;
Travellers to countries where hepatitis B is common;
and People with haemophilia

You can ask your GP or go to your nearest sexual health GUM clinic for the immunisation.

You will need three injections of hepatitis B vaccine over a period of 4-6 months for full protection. A blood test is then taken one month after the third dose to check that the immunisations have worked. You should then be immune for at least 5 years (a booster injection is usually given 5 years after the initial injection).

Babies born to infected mothers are given an injection of antibodies called immunoglobulin after they are born to help prevent their baby being infected. At the same time a dose of the vaccine is given, followed by two doses, with a month in between each, with a booster dose 12 months later. Also anyone exposed to the virus should be given an injection of immunoglobulin immediately as well as the vaccine.