To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Hep B Vaccine Approved For Use In Hep C Patients URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/A02FA.htm Doctor's Guide August 13, 1998
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Aug. 13, 1998 -- SmithKline Beecham's Engerix-B(R), Hepatitis B vaccine (recombinant) has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in individuals suffering from chronic hepatitis C infection. Engerix-B is the first and only hepatitis B vaccine to be approved for use in patients suffering from hepatitis C. A consensus panel convened by the National Institutes of Health has recommended that all hepatitis C virus-positive patients be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B. Nearly four million Americans are infected with hepatitis C, a common infection that can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, an estimated 30,000 acute new infections occur each year; only 25-30 percent of those are diagnosed. Hepatitis C accounts for 20 percent of all cases of acute hepatitis. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 hepatitis C deaths occur annually. Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C is transmitted through blood and other body fluids, intravenous drug use, close continuous contact with an infected person and sexual activity; the infection can also be transmitted from mother to child during birth. Hepatitis C is rarely cured and the only treatment currently works in about 10 to 20 percent of the patients. In a clinical trial of subjects with chronic hepatitis C, Engerix-B was administered in the usual 0, 1, 6 month schedule. All subjects responded with seroprotective titers. The most frequently reported side effect was swelling and redness at the site of injection. Related Links: Engerix-B, SmithKline Beecham --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.