Vaccine Information Archive  

Hepatitis B

Articles & Further Information  

Disease Definition

There are several different hepatitis viruses that can cause liver infections and damage. Hepatitis B is one of these.

Hepatitis B, which can be found in the body fluids of infected people, spreads through: sexual contact; sharing drug injecting equipment, toothbrushes or razors; from mother to babies during childbirth; and unclean facilities used for tattooing and body piercing.

Symptoms can show between 1 to 12 weeks after infection and they include:
weakness; tiredness; poor appetite; nausea and/or vomiting; abdominal discomfort/pain; muscle and joint pain;skin rashes; jaundice (yellow colouring of eyes, skin and urine); and dark urine and light faeces.

Most people recover from the acute infection but may carry the hepatitis B virus long after recovering from symptoms. Some people develop chronic hepatitis, which can lead to liver failure and cancer.

Source: www.immunise.health.gov.au  

About the vaccine

Hepatits B is generally caused by either unprotected sexual contact or contact with infected blood. It is not caused by casual contact nor have there been any reported instances of transmission via saliva, sharing of toothbrushes or other similar contact.

The first dose of Hepatitis B vaccination is administered to infants within 72 hours of birth. It is apparent that the vast majority of infants born in Australia today would have absolutely no risk behaviours which would leave their susceptible to Hepatitis B infections.

In 1999, the US Congress held a series of hearings on the advisability of raising the age of Hepatitis B vaccination or doing away with it altogether. At these hearings, many respected and well-known medical professionals testified as to the lack of effectiveness and dangers of this vaccine. Amongst them was Dr Jane Orient, Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). She stated that:

An independent review of the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System - the national database maintained in the US to track and study vaccine reactions) data; publications by governmental, pro-vaccine, and anti-vaccine groups; and a sample of the medical literature leads to the following conclusions:

For most children, the risk of a serious vaccine reaction may be 100 times greater than the risk of hepatitis B.

Overall, the incidence of hepatitis B in the U.S. is currently about 4 per 100,000. The risk for most young children is far less; hepatitis B is heavily concentrated in groups at high risk due to occupation, sexual promiscuity, or drug abuse.

VAERS contains 25,000 reports related to hepatitis B vaccine, about one-third of which were serious enough to lead to an emergency room visit, hospitalization, or death. It is often assumed that only 10% of reactions are reported. (This committee has heard testimony about persons being actively discouraged from reporting, even if they are aware of the reporting system.) Thus, if there have been some 80,000 serious adverse reactions associated with 20 million doses of vaccine, the risk is about 4 in 1000.

(This calculation depends on many assumptions. Moreover, many of the patients experiencing temporally associated adverse reactions had simultaneously received more than one vaccine. Nevertheless, a better estimate has not been put forth.)

It should be noted that a less than 1 in 1,000,000 purely hypothetical risk may be used to justify costly federal regulations on highly useful products that are used voluntarily.

In nearly 20% of VAERS reports, the first of eight listed side effects suggests central nervous system involvement.

Examining the first listed effects shows about 4,600 involving such symptoms as prolonged screaming, agitation, apnea, ataxia, visual disturbances, convulsions, tremors, twitches, an abnormal cry, hypotonia, hypertonia, abnormal sensations, stupor, somnolence, neck rigidity, paralysis, confusion, and oculogyric crisis. The last is a striking feature of post-encephalitic Parkinson's disease, or it may occur as a dystonic reaction to certain drugs such as phenothiazines.

The CDC admits that the results of ongoing studies on a potential association of hepatitis B vaccine and demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis are not yet available.

There may be large genetic differences in susceptibility to vaccine adverse effects.

The committee has been told that serious reported adverse effects seem restricted to Caucasians. Yet the oft-cited long-term safety study was conducted in Alaskan natives, and many studies involved Asians. In adults, 77% of the reactions involve women, who are generally more susceptible to autoimmune diseases. This deserves serious study, not off-hand dismissal (“nurses always over-report”). Universal immunisation could lead to disproportionate injury to susceptible populations, who might also be the least affected by the disease one is trying to prevent.

Striking increases in chronic illnesses have occurred in temporal association with an increase in vaccination rates.

Asthma and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, causes of lifelong morbidity and frequent premature death, have nearly doubled in incidence since the introduction of many new, mandatory vaccines. There is no explanation for this increase. The temporal association, although not probative, is suggestive and demands intense investigation. Instead of following up on earlier, foreign studies suggesting a greater-than-chance association, the CDC, through vaccine mandates, is obliterating the control group (unvaccinated children).

Dr. Classen testified concerning his opinion that hepatitis B vaccine could precipitate diabetes mellitus. Of note, VAERS contains more than 4,000 reports of abdominal symptoms that could have been due to pancreatitis, which was probably not specifically sought and thus missed if present.

Even more alarming is the huge increase in reports of autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, with devastating, life-long impacts. Much of this could be due to overdiagnosis (now rewarded by numerous government subsidies). The change in behavior that many parents observe related to vaccines could be coincidental, or it might reflect a desperate need to explain a disastrous occurrence. Nonetheless, the implications are so grave that immediate investigation is needed. Measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, and the whole panoply of childhood diseases are a far less serious threat than having a large fraction (say 10%) of a generation afflicted with learning disability and/or uncontrollable aggressive behavior because of an impassioned crusade for universal vaccination.

There are plausible mechanisms such as molecular mimicry whereby vaccines could have such effects. Basic research, as well as epidemiologic studies (starting with a long-term follow-up of reactions reported to VAERS), is urgent.

Hepatitis B vaccine as a cause of sudden infant death (SIDS) has not been ruled out.

The mere observation that the incidence of SIDS has decreased while hepatitis B immunisation rates have increased proves nothing whatsoever. In other contexts, the Back to Sleep campaign is credited with a dramatic fall in SIDS; the fall might have been much greater without hepatitis B immunisations. The presence of findings such as brain edema in healthy infants who die very soon after receiving hepatitis B vaccine is profoundly disturbing, especially in view of the frequency of neurologic symptoms in the VAERS.

Does SIDS occur on the day after hepatitis B vaccine with a greater-than-expected frequency? Does it occur at a younger-than-expected age? Are the autopsy findings different in babies who just received the vaccine? The fact that vaccine just happens to be given during the time period that babies are most likely to die of SIDS complicates the analysis. Also, there are a number of other confounding variables (sleep position, socioeconomic status, and possibly smoking behavior).

The data in VAERS are probably too incomplete to answer the questions. A very detailed statistical analysis and an aggressive attempt to obtain more complete information are urgently needed. Glib reassurance, based on the secular trends shown to this Committee, is dangerous.

Vaccines used in Australia:

1. H-B-Vax II - Genetically Engineered Vaccine : Manufactured by Merck Sharp and Dohme DATA SHEET
2. Engerix-B - Genetically Engineered Vaccine containing mercury (Thiomersal) - Glaxo SmithKline DATA SHEET

DATA SHEETS

Sourced from: www.medsafe.govt.nz

Similar to 'Package Inserts' these Data Sheets contain information provided by the vaccine manufacturer and list ,among other things, the vaccine's ingredients and possible side effects.

We here at the AVN had the up-to-date Australian vaccination information on our website for years. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, we were ordered to remove these details due to supposed copyright issues though they are freely available across the Tasman as you can see.

As far as we are able to determine, this information and the vaccine manufacturers are exactly the same as the information released on vaccines in Australia. It seems that the powers that be in Australia do not want you to know what is in the vaccines being used here, what the listed side-effects are and what contraindications (or reasons why the vaccine might not be appropriate) there are for individuals who are considering taking this shot. Hopefully, the authorities in Australia will one day become more open-minded on this issue and will decide that parents are not only capable of understanding this information but should have access to it to assist in their decision-making process. For now, here is the information from New Zealand.

Information on Vaccines used in the USA can be found here: www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm  

Please share the links to these pages with anyone you know who is considering vaccinating their children or themselves.