Hep B and possibly A

[katiesk]

Dd is 21 months and not vaxed at this point. I would ideally not let her have any vaxes, but dp feels strongly that she should get Hep B and likely A (vaccines). He does alot of water maintenance at his job and that often involves close exposure to sewage. He is also an EMT. He is afraid that he is exposed and then may potentially expose dd to these viruses.

So, in my situation, what are different thoughts on this type of exposure? What would others do, and what information would you recommend that we look at?

Looking through these forums and in other research, Hep B is an especially risky vaccine. While I'm not so concerned about dd catching Hep A as a child, Hep B is not as innocuous, if I understand correctly. If she is at a much elevated risk of catching the virus, I would theoretically be more open to her being vaccinated, but I am pretty nervous about this specific vaccine. And does anyone have an accurate estimation of it's efficacy rate?

Thanks so much. It's always so helpful to hear thoughts and gain support here!

[Fujiko]

Well, Hep B is blood-borne/STD. I would think it would be difficult for him to contract the disease if he is taking proper precautions at his job, but if he *did* get it, it would also be unlikely that he would transmit it to your daughter because normal father-to-daughter contact is not conducive to transmission. It's not like the flu or a cold. If your husband is at a higher risk of contracting diseases due to his job, I would recommend getting him tested regularly and taking "universal precautions" with him if he injures himself at home (i.e., use gloves when bandaging a bleeding cut, make sure bloodied bandages are disposed of properly, etc.)

As far as hep a goes, it's an acute illness. I did not immunize my daughter when we took a trip to Mexico (where it is more endemic) because we don't immunize for diseases that pose no risk to long-term health. (She did end up getting some kind of GI bug but it wasn't hep a because the incubation was too short for that.) ETA: I checked, and the CDC reports a mortality rate of 4 per 1000 cases, and the virus affects older people more severely than younger people. Some children who contract the disease don't even have symptoms but rather will develop an immunity to it.

Has your husband considered vaccinating HIMSELF for diseases he is more at-risk for?

[claddaghmom]

Why won't he get vaccinated if he's worried about his job?

Does he know what HepB is and how it is contracted?

HepA...well I know a family who vacationed and they all came back with HepA. They simply got the immunoglobulin shot and were fine. It was a homeschool family of 6 kids, 7 months to 21yrs and two parents.

[katiesk]

i think what he is thinking is that he might be doing some sewer work and get something on his clothes that then come home and maybe dd will like, lick his pants or something (not an unrealistic scenario) before he washes them...or that he will be doing emt work and maybe have a splash of blood on something that comes home and then touches dd...and maybe she has an open gaping wound that comes into contact with the hep b infected blood stain...ok this is sounding pretty silly. i guess thats what he is thinking. is that at all feasible as far as how these viruses spread? i mean, typically thats not how you you contract hep b...but you know, could it happen?

and if he is vaccinated for hep a&b and is immune (which i'm sure he thinks he is up to date, but we will find out if he really is) and is potentially infected by one of the viruses, could he spread it? or does the vaccine limit that?

[Marnica]

picking and choosing which vaccines (if any) to get is a risk vs benefit analysis. The scenarios you describes are first of all easily avoidable. Have your husband change his clothes and/or shower before having contact with your daughter. If he is working in a sewer, I would think that this would be par for the course anyway!! If he is an EMT, I would think he is up to date on vaccines and if he is not, he can get vaccinated if he is that worried. Above poster is correct however, if he is using precations at work, getting infecting with Hep B is unlikely, and passing that on to your DD through casual contact is even more unlikely. Frankly from the scerarios that you are describing, the risks of vaccinating FAR outweigh the benefits. I think your DD would have a better chance of being struck by lightening than getting either of these diseases from your husband!

[ammiga]

I'm not sure why your dh would rather vax your daughter than change his clothes before he comes home from work. If I were exposed to that sort of stuff, I wouldn't want it in my car or house, regardless of the vax status of my family. He can just keep his clothes in a laundry bag and dump them into the washing machine when he is ready to do a load.

I would not vax anyone in my family in this situation, but rather practice basic sanitation and clean-up before leaving work.

[katiesk]

all of this common sense is very helpful! thank you.