NSW:Vaccine-denying couple still on run as DoCS seeks new ord=2

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2008
NSW:Vaccine-denying couple still on run as DoCS seeks new ord=2

Helen Tyrrell, CEO of Hepatitis Australia, said the hepatitis B vaccine was considered very safe.

"In Australia, we know that all our vaccines are subject to extremely stringent quality
control processes," she told AAP.

"We know that they're safe.

"The incidences of acute reactions to the hepatitis B vaccine are extremely rare ...

and if they do occur, they're usually short-lived.

"So, if you're weighing up the risks of vaccination versus not vaccination, then we
would certainly recommend vaccination."

Ms Tyrrell said mother-to-child transmission during the birth process and immediately
after was the most common cause of hepatitis B transmission, with chances of transmission
between five and 40 per cent.

If a child was vaccinated, the chances of infection were "very, very low", she said.

Vaccinations are not compulsory in Australia but it is NSW Health policy that babies
born to hepatitis B mothers are given the immunoglobulin injection within 12 hours of
birth.

The treatment is followed up with four more doses of the vaccine over six months.

It is unclear whether caesarean birth carries a lower risk of transmission than natural birth.

Breastfeeding, however, was considered safe, provided nipples weren't cracked and bleeding.

Ms Tyrell said a baby who developed hepatitis B had a 95 per cent chance of developing
the chronic form of the disease, which carried with it a "very, very high chance" of liver
cancer.

"The virus attacks the liver and once you've damaged the liver, it's very difficult
to reverse those symptoms," she said.

"You get a hardening of the liver, you get sclerosis, you get liver failure, you may
need a liver transplant, you may get liver cancer ... and in rare cases, people die.

"The whole case is absolutely tragic in my view," she said.

The case is considered complicated because Australia does not have a compulsory vaccination
system.

A DoCS spokeswoman said any future legal action against the parents would depend on
the outcome of today's proceedings as well as any further legal or medical advice DoCS
received.

AAP cjb/wjf/sco/cdh

KEYWORD: VACCINATION 2 SYDNEY

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