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Hep B Vaccine Approved For Use In Hep C Patients PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Aug. 13, 1998 -- SmithKline Beecham’s Engerix-B(R), Hepatitis B vaccine (recombinant) has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in individuals suffering from chronic hepatitis C infection. Engerix-B is the first and only hepatitis B vaccine to be approved for use in patients suffering from hepatitis C. A consensus panel convened by the National Institutes of Health has recommended that all hepatitis C virus-positive patients be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B. Nearly four million Americans are infected with hepatitis C, a common infection that can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, an estimated 30,000 acute new infections occur each year; only 25-30 percent of those are diagnosed. Hepatitis C accounts for 20 percent of all cases of acute hepatitis. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 hepatitis C deaths occur annually. Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C is transmitted through blood and other body fluids, intravenous drug use, close continuous contact with an infected person and sexual activity; the infection can also be transmitted from mother to child during birth. Hepatitis C is rarely cured and the only treatment currently works in about 10 to 20 percent of the patients. In a clinical trial of subjects with chronic hepatitis C, Engerix-B was administered in the usual 0, 1, 6 month schedule. All subjects responded with seroprotective titers. The most frequently reported side effect was swelling and redness at the site of injection. Related Links: Engerix-B, SmithKline Beecham E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version