Despite a change from a federal advisory panel, Wisconsin health officials recommend all newborns should be vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer in the Department of Health Services Bureau of Communicable Diseases
“Since universal newborn vaccination was adopted in the early 1990s, pediatric hepatitis B infections have declined by 99%,” Westergaard said.
DHS has sent a memo to providers, and Westergaard doesn’t expect the current rate of 77% of Wisconsin newborns receiving an initial vaccine dose to decrease.
“But it’s important to understand the consequence of not giving the vaccine, which is that even a small number of cases of chronic hepatitis B infection in young people can come with pretty significant healthcare costs,” Westergaard said.
A Hepatitis B infection can lead to lifelong liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer, and infants and young children are particularly at high risk.