Each year, Alberta Health and Wellness, with the regional health authorities, offers a program to provide hepatitis B vaccine to all students in Grade five. Most other provinces in Canada also offer hepatitis B vaccine to students in elementary school.

Hepatitis B is a virus that attacks the liver. It can cause permanent liver damage and scarring, and in some cases, even death. It is the number one cause of liver cancer in the world.

Hepatitis B immunization involves a series of injections given by a public health nurse at your child's school. With your permission, your child will receive three separate injections over a six-month period during the school year.

It is uncommon for a child to contract hepatitis B. However, exposure of a child to blood or discarded needles in a school yard or playground is possible. Hepatitis B can be spread by contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected person. About half the people who catch hepatitis B never feel sick and can spread the disease without knowing it. In Alberta, many new cases are the result of sexual relations with an infected person. In most cases, no obvious source of infection can be found. Hepatitis B can also be spread by injection drug use. An infected mother may also pass the disease to a newborn during birth.

In Alberta, most new cases occur in young adulthood. Immunization is being offered to students in grade five to ensure they are protected well before they become adults.

Hepatitis B vaccine is one of the safest vaccines used today. It has been in Canada for over 10 years. More than 30 million doses have been given worldwide with no serious side effects. Hepatitis B vaccine does not contain blood products or living viruses.

Hepatitis B vaccine usually has no side effects. Your child may, however, experience minor reactions such as redness, warmth or swelling at the injection site, tiredness or slight fever lasting one or two days.

More serious reactions such as allergic responses, severe pain or swelling are very rare and should be reported to your public health nurse or family doctor. The risk from this vaccine is far less than the risk from hepatitis B disease.

If your child has a fever or illness other than a minor cold, the public health nurse will delay the hepatitis B vaccine. For more information on hepatitis B, call your local health nurse in your region.

The number of new hepatitis B cases have been increasing steadily since 1980 across Canada.

• Symptoms include tiredness, fever, loss of appetite, yellow skin and eyes (jaundice).

• Symptoms may last for weeks and months.

• Most people with hepatitis B do not know they have it.

• Once you have hepatitis B, there are no drugs to treat it.

• Most people recover from the disease. However, up to 10% of people who get hepatitis B become carriers. This means they can develop permanent liver damage or even liver cancer.

• It is not spread by sneezing, coughing, hugging or using the same dishes or cutlery.

Call your local public health office.

CD14

This fact sheet is also available in PDF