Bob

Well they don't to anything for TB either, so I've given up reasoning the whole vaccine thing

chicagojlo

Exactly what happened with mine. She wrote the dates (she had it at 4 months and 15 months) on the form that went on file for daycare admission and it was done with.
As for Hep B - the vaccination schedules are standard across the board. Just because your child may not come into contact with Hep B as an infant doesn't mean others won't.

Ozzidoc

But Bob, the Hep B vax works in the large proportion of people who have it ie it provides immunity. (Even if, like me, an extra jab or two is required to produc e that immunity.) Over 90%, so "herd immunity" is provided

As I've explained elsewhere on here, there is SOME evidence that the TB jab provides SOME coverage to some people. The figures are in the 60% area. That's why the US govt has decided not to give the jab - it doesn't work well enough in their eyes. In other countries' eyes, some cover is thought to be better than none.

paul1968mcr

We got the kids started on the HEP B course in Jan '07, the school were fine as long as the course had was started, and we gave them updates on progress.

Being a caring parent, I also volunteered the kids for HEP A too LMAO! They were REALLY not impressed.

I, of course, being allergic to needles had to turn down the offer of taking the course myself.

Zoe Bell

Thanks for the answers, I knew that hep b was a bigger deal than , say HIV. If you get a needle stick or something then its hep you really should be worried over. I just don't envisgaea situation where children are likely to be exposed in this way. Admittingly I don't have children so could well be VERY ignorant about what they get up to. I read the stuff on wikipedia as well , so now I have another question , why is hep b so prevalent in certain ethnic groups? I'm suprised it isn't screened for (the canada med screens for TB and syphilis but not hep as standard).

Cheers

Zoe

chicagojlo

I guess it is because it is uncontrolled in the country of origin, so frequent visitors are more likely to be exposed to it? When we lived in Amsterdam they gave Moroccan descent children Hep B jabs as they were more likely to get it while visiting family in Morocco.
We had to have Hep A jabs to go to Egypt too.

penguinsix

Kids bite, scratch, punch, play, spit, and a whole list of other things that are more or less un-hygenic. Then there is just the random contact you might have with someone one day who doesn't even know they are a carrier. I think someone also mentioned that it was for California, which has a rather higher percentage of students from Asia and Latin America than other parts of the US.

madeofkent

there have been some very good replies on this and I personally feel that the americans have the right idea with Hep B as it is easy to catch, as people who have lived in institutions in the UK could testify as they used to be our highest incidences.
on the subject of BCG the longest ESTIMATED time for protection is 15 years I recently had case of a Dr dealing with illegal immigrates at a port of entry in the uk phone up in a panic because her BCG scar started weeping pus, she had had it 21 years the chest physician was ecstatic because apparently that is what they are supposed to do!! when you are exposed! and he had never seen one react after more than 10 years (he's coming up for retirement, probably just as well if thats all it takes to get him excited).
I have never had the BCG because in the UK if you have evidence of a scar you are not Mantoux tested and the very same chest physician noted that the scar that had been documented on me was in fact a small pox vaccination!!! Mantoux test done and was negitive, thank god I declined his offer for BCG, now I am moving to the states and hope to be Nursing
Oh and on the subject of ME I believe its actually Gillum Barrie Syndrome and that is so rare we would write papers on individuals with it rather than the frightening statistic we do on Hep B
So here's to vaccinations and herd immunity and be thankful we have access to them

Zoe Bell

Thanks very much for this. If nothing else it has made me think about my own preconcieved ideas. Before seeing this thread and doing my own research/reading I had lumped Hep B in with HIV , in my mind , no blood passed , no sex then no Hep B . I'd imagine that this is a fairly common misconception .

May reconsider that twinrex vaccination after all

penguinsix

You may want to contact your doctor or your local 'public' health entity for their view on HepB in your area. It could actually be greater than you suspect, or rather miniscule. There are a few cases of Hep A being passed in the food preparation industry, something you may want to consider (especially if you eat 'exotically').

Like I said, my travel basically makes it a necessity for me. I walked, lived and ate in some areas where I joked with the wife 'you can smell the Hepatitis in the air.' Unlike a tetanus shot, getting the Twinrex after you've stepped on the nail' really isn't an option, so you should consider your own lifestyle and travel and living areas when making this decision. My father, who travels throughout some really scary areas, also has all the shots and even carries 'blood insurance' to pay the extra premium for blood that has been screened for certain diseases (apparently it is an option on travel insurance).

But I think your local medical folks can probably provide some more info on the status of Hep in your area.

chicagojlo

Quite a few celebs have needed Hep A tests recently following events that were catered by infected staff. Not eating exotically, just at a catered event. My uncle caught it eating at his local favorite restaurant in London.

Zoe Bell

I believe I've had the hep A vaccination, If thats the water and food bourne one, Travelled to Tunisia as a teenager.

As far as Hep B , I've always considered myself to be incredibly low risk (off the bottom of the scale) in terms of risk when I was in the UK , certainly no lifestyle issues that would cause a problem . I never considered that moving to Canada would change that. I'm guessing that seeing as approx 50% of the population here in Toronto are immigrants that could have an impact.

May have to take a wander down the local walk in as I'm not convinced that I've been done against measles and keep hearing about outbreaks here.

kins

I'm in Maine and we did just the same. If the paed had refused to write the letter confirming the kids had had chickenpox then we would either have had to do the blood titre, give the kids the jabs, or take them out of school for 10 days every time anyone in school got chickenpox. So I was very pleased she wrote the letter...

Don't have to have any Hep vaccines here that I know of, for school.

Ozzidoc

Hep A is transient, from food and water. Booster needed every 10 yrs. Sorry to hear about your uncle.

Hep B is in blood, saliva, semen, menstrual blood. Booster not usually needed although some places check healthcare workers' titres every 5 yrs. I know someone whose life was ruined at 18 by her first love, who had Hep B but didn't know it....gave it to her, she had an acute reaction and lost her liver.

Sir Denis Eaton-Hogg

Just to update everybody, we have spoken to the schools admission secretary and the nurse and they are fine to admit as long as we can prove that the course of Heb B has begun. We will have the 1st shot here and the others once we arrive in the US. Luckliy we all have full healthcare through my employer, interestingly I did a little bit of research and the cost differences between the vaccinations in the UK and US were minimal and in the case of Heb B some US providers are slightly cheaper. Some PCT's will provide the Heb B Vaccine free of charge, if the parents are in a high riskj category or live in an area that has large numbers of high risk poipulation. Sadly our local PCT does not and charges a nice £75 per jab!

They also advised that regardless of the fact that my Son has had Chickenpox at 2 years old he will still need the vacination. Apparnetly thats the regs in CA?? We have that booke dthis week and it only costs £30

Thanks for all the great advise and help... brilliant as always

Now on to the next little act in this seemling endless drama

FYI Interesting artcile from the the BMA website below on the Uk policy to the HBV Vaccine:

What is the hepatitis B vaccination status for children in the UK?
The UK is one of the few developed countries that have not implemented universal neonatal HBV immunisation. Because the burden of HBV in the UK is relatively low, a policy of immunisation of new-borns of carrier mothers and those in high-risk groups has been followed. This approach has limited impact as it fails to identify a large proportion of those at risk and it also ignores the increase in international travel, the rise of HBV and the high rates in some areas of this country. It is time that the policy is reviewed in the light of experience with this selective immunisation policy, the data on efficacy of universal immunisation from other countries, and the proven safety of recombinant vaccines [go to reference 8].

Currently, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is reviewing the UK’s existing policy of offering vaccine only to those belonging to high risk categories. Both the rise in the incidence of HBV infection in high risk groups, particularly evident in recent outbreaks among injecting drug users [go to reference 9], and the increase in prevalence of HBV attributable to immigrants and asylum seekers, suggest that greater attention to prevention of infection is required [go to reference 10].

Parents who want their child vaccinated (if he / she does not fit into one of the priority groups) should speak to their GP or healthcare practitioner. More information on the childhood vaccination schedule in the UK may be accessed at this website: http://www.immunisation.org.uk/article.php?id=97 .