Can dc get hep b from playing with kids?

[DevaMajka]

My SIL, who I'd consider educated and informed for the most part, just told that she was thinking about getting hep b for her baby.
She said that there's a racial group around here that tends to have a high incidence of having hep b (that makes no sense to me at all, but ???) and that her pedi really recommends it because her dd could get hep b from playing with kids from that group.

This sounds to me to be along the same lines of what ds's ex-pedi said to try to convince me that hep b was a good idea- that if we got in a car accident, and blood from another person got on a cut of ds's, and that person happened to have hep b, then, duh, ds could get it. right

But is there any validity at all to what my SIL's pedi said?

(I'm pg right now and will have to make this vax decision. With ds, he was fully vaxed on schedule until he was 1yo, when I thought to research it. He hasn't gotten any since. One that I was SURE that I wouldn't get was hep b).

Oh, another question- I used to have a link to an article that said the hep b protection only lasted 6 years. Anyone have a link that gives this type of info on it?

[alegna]

I have heard the *THEORY* that kids could get hep b from a bite. But just playing together? No way.

And I am still waiting to see any evidence on the bite theory. It's pretty far-fetched IMO.

-Angela

[lirpasirhc]

i've heard that racial theory from some peds - they were concerned about Asian immigrants. my baby isn't having sex or sharing needles w/ anyone. i haven't seen credible evidence the hep b is spread another way.

[rhiandmoi]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7130750

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/334/9/549

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi...67?cookieSet=1

[mamakay]

http://www.nfid.org/factsheets/hbagdoc.html

Why we vaccinate infants and children for HepB in the US

To answer the question, if casual HepB transmission happens, it's exceedingly rare.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...s/hepb-508.pdf

Before routine childhood hepatitis B vaccination was recommended, more than 80% of acute HBV infections occurred among adults. Adolescents accounted for approximately 8% of infections, and children and infants infected through perinatal transmission accounted for approximately 4% each.

[ema-adama]

Take a look at this video from about 1hr and 5 minutes. It touches on the idea of molecular mimicry, the reason why the Hep B vax is associated with autoimmune diseases.

Risks and benefits

[Sileree]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

Oh, another question- I used to have a link to an article that said the hep b protection only lasted 6 years. Anyone have a link that gives this type of info on it?

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00041917.htm

"Between 30% and 50% of persons who develop adequate antibodies after three doses of the vaccine will lose detectable antibodies within 7 years. But, protection against viremic infection and clinical disease appears to persist."

[Deborah]

It isn't race, it is geography. Certain countries have high Hep B infection rates.

But I agree with PP about the difficulty of catching the infection via casual play. If your local toddlers are sharing needles you've got a problem--

[DevaMajka]

I forgot about the Pink Book

So... as a follow up question, do you (general you) get this vax for your kids, or recommend that others get it?

[alegna]

Absolutely not. If I was to start vaccinating I would never consider it for my kids short of adolescence - if then.

IMO the ONLY excuse for giving it to an infant is if the mother is positive.

-Angela

[mija y mijo]

Originally Posted by alegna

Absolutely not. If I was to start vaccinating I would never consider it for my kids short of adolescence - if then.

IMO the ONLY excuse for giving it to an infant is if the mother is positive.

-Angela

My sentiments exactly.

[ema-adama]

Originally Posted by alegna

Absolutely not. If I was to start vaccinating I would never consider it for my kids short of adolescence - if then.

IMO the ONLY excuse for giving it to an infant is if the mother is positive.

-Angela

[Emily's Mama]

I was just talking to our family doc about this the other day. She said that while yes, most babies will never be exposed to obvious blood and semen, babies are teething and that means there can be some blood in their saliva and that can get from baby to baby. Seems slim, but I suppose it could happen.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Emily's Mama

I was just talking to our family doc about this the other day. She said that while yes, most babies will never be exposed to obvious blood and semen, babies are teething and that means there can be some blood in their saliva and that can get from baby to baby. Seems slim, but I suppose it could happen.

I'd love to see any research showing the plausibility of that.

-Angela

[Emmeline II]

Hep B is a blood born, not communicable disease.

http://www.hepb.org/hepb/transmission.htm

Hepatitis B is transmitted through blood and infected bodily fluids. This can occur through:

• direct blood-to-blood contact
• unprotected sex
• unsterile needles
• from an infected woman to her newborn during the delivery process.

Other possible routes of infection include sharing sharp instruments such as razors, toothbrushes or earrings. Body piercing, tattooing and acupuncture are also possible routes of infection unless sterile needles are used
Hepatitis B is NOT transmitted casually. It cannot be spread through sneezing, coughing, hugging or eating food prepared by someone who is infected with hepatitis B. Everyone is at some risk for a hepatitis B infection, but some groups are at higher risk because of their occupation or life choices.

http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/?page_id=21

A cost-effective analysis for Medical Decision Making titled Should Canada and the United States Universally Vaccinate Infants against Hepatitis B? suggested that universally vaccinating infants regardless of maternal Hepatitis B carriage status would save the US money in comparison to screening and only vaccinating infants of carrier mothers.

[MaterPrimaePuellae]

Originally Posted by Emily's Mama

I was just talking to our family doc about this the other day. She said that while yes, most babies will never be exposed to obvious blood and semen, babies are teething and that means there can be some blood in their saliva and that can get from baby to baby. Seems slim, but I suppose it could happen.

If this were the case though-- seriously-- I would just keep DD away from teething babies rather than get the vax.

My DD was vaxed with this one before I knew better when she was 1 day old. : and IMmore-educatedO, this is by the far the easiest to turn down. Well...and varicella...and Hep A....

[wallacesmum]

It's interesting to me how often the getting-bitten-at-daycare argument is the one that gets parents to vaccinate. I know parents who are doing DTaP for that reason; somehow their child might get tetanus at nursery school from a bite! I smile and nod.

As with the herd immunity transmission arguments, I find this a little hollow. We are supposed to enter this into the risk-benefit equation, but there is no data. What is the biological plausibility of such transmission? Where are the case studies? Even the medical risks are difficult to quantify based on the existing research; how do they quantify the risk that a child is a: infected and b: likely to transmit? Even STDs aren't a sure thing, transmission-wise.

[mommyto3girls]

Never! Unless someone in the household with the child full time is pos, I would never ever get Hep B for an infant. My docs believe the Hep B series is what triggered my Crohn's Disease and it is the cause of my first born's death

[Skippy918]

We skipped the HepB vax also. But I was given the "what if your child needs a blood transfusion" scare tactic. Is blood for transfusions not screened for Heb B?

[phathui5]

I personally got the Hep B vax when I turned 13 and I would consider offering it to my own children at that age.