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Immunizations For Adults

Does your lifestyle put you at risk?
Do you use street drugs?
Do you have many sex partners?
You should consider immunization against hepatitis A and B

Hepatitis is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis viruses, including viruses A and B.

Hepatitis A is spread primarily by water and poor sanitation. It is also spread by having sex with someone who is infected. Hepatitis A causes jaundice and fatigue that can last for many months although the virus is usually cleared from the body. Death is rare, though it does sometimes occur.

Hepatitis B is spread mainly by blood and by contact with body fluids. The virus can cause jaundice and illness lasting several months. It may be fatal. In some cases the virus may not be cleared from the body and the patient can become a chronic carrier, capable of spreading the disease to others. The carrier may also go on to develop cirrhosis and liver cancer. Some people who carry the disease never have symptoms of infection.

All children and adolescents in Canada are now routinely offered vaccination against Hepatitis B.

Adults at risk of hepatitis A and B should consider getting the hepatitis vaccine series. They include people who live in areas with poor sanitation or who lack clean drinking water; people traveling to countries with poor sanitation; people who use street drugs (intravenous or oral); people with multiple sex partners. Health care workers who may be exposed to blood or body fluids should also receive hepatitis vaccine.

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