Hepatitis B
What makes infection with hepatitis B viruses so dangerous? It is the 5-10% of all cases that do not heal and develop into a chronic form of the infection. 25 % of these chronically ill patients die from liver cancer or liver cirrhosis. Infection occurs primarily via the blood. However, infection is also possible via other bodily fluids. The main routes of infection are ▶ Unprotected sexual intercourse ▶ Contact with infected blood (risk for rescue workers, medical and nursing staff) ▶ Contaminated objects (drug cutlery, ear piercers, tattoo or acupuncture needles, shared toothbrushes, razors) ▶Conserved blood (very rare due to modern medical standards) The best way to protect yourself from a hepatitis B infection is to get vaccinated! The hepatitis B vaccination introduced in Germany in 1982 led to a significant reduction in the number of cases of the disease in the healthcare system. However, as most infections do not occur in specific risk groups but in the normal population, mainly due to sexual transmission, the strategy of vaccinating risk groups was not successful in reducing the number of infections in general. It was therefore decided in 1995 to include the hepatitis B vaccination in the list of vaccinations recommended for children and adolescents. The number of new infections each year is still high, although this is partly due to a significant improvement in screening in recent years. From a medical and occupational health point of view, we always advise unvaccinated people to be immunized.
