As viral hepatitis These are infections that reach the liver, causing symptoms such as tiredness, fever, malaise, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and jaundice (skin and yellowish eyes). In Brazil, the most common are caused by viruses A, B and C, according to the Ministry of Health, but there are also Hepatitis D and E.
Also according to the folder, these infections bring approximately 1.4 million deaths per year worldwide, either by acute infection, liver cancer or cirrhosis associated with. Therefore, prevention is fundamental in combating disease, and vaccine is the main tool available for this. This Monday (28), the World Day to Fight Viral Hepatitis to make the population aware of vaccination.
“At the moment, we have available vaccines that protect against hepatitis A and B, which are the most frequent among us. There is still neither in Brazil nor in other countries, an effective vaccine against hepatitis C,” explains Antonio Carlos Madeira, a doctor from the Syrian-Lebanese Social Responsibility Institute, to CNN.
“There is a lot of effort and a lot of research on the part of scientists in developing a hepatitis C vaccine, but at the moment it is not yet available,” he adds.
How does viral hepatitis vaccination work?
Currently, there are vaccines available against and B, both in the Unified Health System (SUS). In the first case, immunization is part of the children’s calendar, in the scheme of a dose at 15 months of age, and can be used from 12 months to five years incomplete.
In addition, the vaccine is available at the Special Immunobiological Reference Centers (CRIE), Special Immunobiological Intermediate Centers (CII) and in qualified SUS vaccine rooms (GM/MS Ordinance No. 6.623/2025), in the 2 -dose scheme – with a minimum interval of 6 months – for people over 1 year of age with the following conditions:
- Chronic hepatopathies of any etiology, including chronic infection by HBV and/or HCV (hepatitis C);
- Chronic carriers of HBV (hepatitis B);
- Coagulopatias;
- People living with HIV or AIDS;
- People in use of HIV pre-exposed prophylaxis (PREP);
- Therapeutic immunodepression or immunodopressive disease;
- Deposit diseases;
- Cystic fibrosis (mucovisidosis);
- Trisomies;
- Candidates for solid organ transplantation, registered in transplant programs;
- Solid organ transplanted (TOS);
- Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (THCT);
- Solid organ donors or hematopoietic stem cells (TCTH), registered in transplant programs;
- Hemoglobinopathies;
- Anatomical or functional asplenia and related diseases.
Already the vaccine is available in SUS for all non -vaccinated people, regardless of age. For children, the recommendation is to make four doses of the vaccine: at birth, at 2, 4 and 6 months of age (pentavalent vaccine).
For the adult population, the complete scheme occurs with the application of three doses. For the immunosuppressed population, one should observe the need for special schemes with adjusted doses, made available in health services that make up immunobiological networks for people in special situations (RIE).
“Hepatitis vaccination is not exclusive to children. We can start vaccinating a person against hepatitis already in adulthood and sometimes even close to advanced age. So hepatitis vaccination is available for virtually all ages,” Madeira reiterates.
Other forms of prevention
In addition to vaccination, there are other ways to prevent viral hepatitis, which vary according to the form of transmission.
“We have, for example, in the case of hepatitis B and C, the transmission is fundamentally through blood transfusion, so the care it has to take is with the quality of the blood that will be inoculated in another person, at the receiver. So care in these blood transfusions is essential,” says Madeira.
Hepatitis C is also very related to unprotected sex and, therefore, condom use is essential to prevent infection.
“Other precautions involve food hygiene, because many foods can be ingested contaminated by the virus, especially in the case of type A hepatitis. So care for food, water that will be drink and transfusions,” he adds.
