Current update of pediatric hepatitis vaccine use

Blumberg's(2a) description of the Australia Antigen, eventually renamed the hepatitis B surface antigen, opened the door to the serologic diagnosis of viral hepatitis. During the three decades since this Nobel prize-winning e vent, the two recognized causes of viral hepatitis, infectious hepatitis (n ow called hepatitis A virus; HAV) and homologous serum hepatitis (now calle d hepatitis B virus; HBV), have grown to at least six. A brief description of the non-A, non-B viruses is shown in Table 1. Of these types, HAV, HBV, and hepatitis C virus have had the greatest degre es of investigation, and vaccines are now available for the prevention of H AV and HBV. This article deals primarily with these vaccine-preventable for ms of viral hepatitis, with special attention to the use of these products in pediatrics. Particular attention will be paid to issues that have develo ped in 1999. For HAV, it is the change in the US recommendations about incr eased use in higher-risk US locations. For HBV, it is the concern about tox icity, real or imagined.