Babies born from the 1 August will be offered new ‘hexavalent’ jab in effort to clamp down on infections that cause cirrhosis and liver cancer

All babies born in the UK will receive the hepatitis B jab as part of their routine immunisations from the autumn in an effort to drive down viral infections that cause cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The hepatitis B vaccine is to be added to the 5-in-1 jab that is already given to babies across the UK to protect them from diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and bacterial infections known as Hib, or haemophilus influenzae type b, health officials said.



The move brings the UK in line with other countries that began to offer the Hep B jab after the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended in 1992 that babies should be immunised against the virus. Britain is one of the last European countries to offer the vaccine to all newborns.



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Health officials delayed the introduction of the jab for all infants because there was no cost-effective combination jab available in the UK. To date, the vaccine has been available on the NHS only as a separate jab and has mostly been given to children considered at high risk of catching the virus, such as those born to infected mothers.

Babies born from the 1 August will be offered the new “hexavalent” jab at the age of eight, 12 and 16 weeks.

Sema Mandal, a consultant in immunisation, hepatitis and blood safety at Public Health England (PHE) said the vaccine had been used widely and safely for many years, with about 150m doses given to children since 2000.



“This has had a major impact on preventing infection in many countries. While hepatitis B is relatively uncommon in the UK, it is a major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer globally,” she said. “From this autumn children in the UK will also be able to benefit from this safe and effective vaccine.”



Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by a virus that is spread through blood and bodily fluids. In many adults, the infection does not cause obvious symptoms and typically clears up in a few months without treatment. But in children the virus can linger for years and cause serious liver damage.

The infection is less common in the UK than other parts of the world, but certain groups are more at risk than others. Most infections in the UK are found in people who inject drugs and those who have unprotected sex with multiple partners.



Britain has very low rates of hepatitis B in general, but the infection is more common in some inner city areas where as many as 1% of antenatal women carry the infection. Higher rates are seen in children who were born in countries where the virus is rife. In regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, most of Asia and the Pacific Islands, 10% or more have chronic hepatitis B infections.

“People with hepatitis B infection may not be aware they are infected as infection mostly has no symptoms. As adults are the majority of infected individuals, vaccinating children will protect them in childhood from potential exposure to infected household or family members. Vaccinating infants will essentially reduce the risk of infection and will provide longer-term protection against future exposure risks,” the PHE said in a statement.





