Hepatitis A Awareness
The availability of safe and effective vaccines offers a solution to our most common infectious diseases and has become part of the background of our everyday life. However, hepatitis A remains one of the most commonly reported vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States. Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. It is spread by close personal contact and by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the hepatitis A virus. Children are among the highest risk groups for hepatitis A because they often come in close contact with other children in child care and school settings and thus act as a "reservoir" for the disease. In this way, hepatitis A can be easily passed by those infected with the disease to others within the same household.

However, hepatitis A can affect anyone, not just children, as evidenced by the recent outbreak in the United States, which resulted in the tragic loss of three lives in Pennsylvania. According to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, routine vaccination of children is the most effective way to reduce hepatitis A incidence nationwide over time. Research shows that national childhood vaccination of hepatitis A would reduce the number of primary cases by 54 percent and also would be a cost-effective strategy.

To further educate the public about the seriousness of hepatitis A infection, NPI has partnered with former Surgeon General, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, in a national hepatitis A awareness campaign called "This 'A' Can Spell Danger for Your Child." Further information can be obtained by clicking on the links below.

Information About Hepatitis A
Dr. Joyclyn Elders Radio News Release
Press Release

* Support for this educational effort is being provided by GlaxoSmithKline, a company that joins the National Partnership for Immunization in its commitment to help reduce the incidence of hepatitis A in the U.S.