July 2005

New WHO focus on measles and hep B

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Robert Hall is at the forefront of a World Health Organisation push to eliminate measles and control hepatitis B within the Western Pacific Region.

Dr Hall was appointed chairman of a group of experts known as the Technical Advisory Group—which met for three days in Beijing during June to review the progress made towards both measles elimination and hepatitis B control.

Dr Hall said that in 2003 all Western Pacific Region countries endorsed measles elimination and hepatitis B control as two new priorities for public health and would be part of expanded immunisation programs.

‘This will be a gratifying project.

‘We will use our goals to reach every child in the region from birth until school age and beyond.

‘The Western Pacific is the first region to include hepatitis B vaccine in immunisation programs and also the first to set 2012 as a target date to achieve hepatitis B control.

‘The technical advisory group has proposed a 2012 milestone of less than two per cent chronic infection in children under five years of age.

‘Currently, the average chronic infection rate is around 10 per cent,’ Dr Hall said.

‘Hepatitis B is a major cause of chronic liver disease such as liver cancer and cirrhosis.

‘The region has only 28 per cent of the total global population but half of the total global hepatitis B burden.

‘It is estimated that there are almost 160 million chronic carriers of hepatitis B in the region with an estimated 120 million in China alone, 15 to 25 per cent of whom will eventually die from chronic liver disease.

‘The number of deaths due to hepatitis B is almost 890 per day or 300,000 deaths per year,’ Dr Hall said.

Achieving the milestone of less than two per cent chronic infection rate by 2012 will mean:

• Around 1.6 million children will be protected from becoming carriers of hepatitis B every year;

• Around 260,000 future deaths from acute or chronic liver disease will be prevented;

• Almost 75 per cent of the prevented disease burden and mortality will be in China;

• Savings of at least $U.S. 12 billion on health care and treatment of chronic liver disease patients.

To best control the disease, WHO recommends universal childhood immunisation with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine with the first dose within 24 hours of birth.

This will prevent 95 per cent of hepatitis B infections.

Dr Hall said the technical advisory group strongly supported the proposed regional measles elimination target date of 2012.

‘It will be challenging to eliminate measles in every country, however, especially in China where measles elimination by 2012 is feasible but some provinces may require more time and effort.

‘It is unacceptable that children are dying from measles, a disease that can be easily prevented by an effective, safe and inexpensive vaccine.

‘Reaching and protecting these children is not just a disease control issue, it is also about fairness and justice,’ Dr Hall said.