The downward trend in the incidence of hepatitis B and C has been observed in Belarus for the past 15 years. About it stated Associate Professor of the Department of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Belarusian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education Irina GLINSKAYA.
According to her, the downward trend in the incidence rate has been outlined primarily due to the fact that the incidence of acute forms of these hepatitis is decreasing. “This is natural, especially when we talk about viral hepatitis B. Here we have quite serious victories among the vaccinated, primarily children. Cases are recorded extremely rarely, not every year. This is due to vaccine prevention,” says Irina Glinskaya.
She noted that Belarusians under the age of 34 are well protected with hepatitis B vaccination. “They were vaccinated at birth or at the age of 13. Currently, according to our national calendar, hepatitis B vaccination is provided for children under the age of one year, starting from the first 12 hours from birth. The vaccine has proven to be highly effective and safe. For several decades, hepatitis B vaccination coverage has been more than 97%,” the expert notes.
In 2022, in Belarus, with the participation of the World Health Organization, a special study was conducted on the surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus among vaccinated children. “The results showed that only one child had HBsAg detected, i.e. a prevalence of less than 0.5%. This is evidence of the high efficiency of the immunization program, our children are protected by vaccination,” added Irina Glinskaya.