Hello, I’m a chronic hep b carrier from birth. Not yet getting treated due to viral load below 2000 iu/mL right now.
I discovered at a recent general doctor appt (not hep specialist) that I haven’t been vaccinated for hep A yet. So my doctor suggested I get this — just wanted to see if you guys here agree. Makes sense to me but wondered if anyone who got the A vaccine had any side effects or if it can affect my Hep B blood tests.
Thanks
Hi @kostas,
The rationale behind getting a hepatitis A vaccination is to prevent any additional sources of potential damage to the liver. I have had this vaccination, particularly when about to travel to developing countries where food standards may not be as stringent as in Australia. I don’t recall any side-effects or any effects on hep B blood tests.
Thomas
I agree with Thomas – I’ve never heard of a contraindication for getting HAV vaccine if HBV+.
The Hepatitis A vaccine is safe and effective. It is an inactivated whole-virus vaccine, so you cannot get HAV from the vaccine.
HAV is a fairly common virus depending on where you live. It is transmitted by the fecal-oral route (yes, that is gross but common for viruses) and causes acute hepatitis. HAV infections are almost always asymptomatic (ie, the virus is growing in a person and possibly spreading to others, but liver damage is not enough for the person to notice) in children, but about 20% of infections in adults can have acute hepatitis (jaundice, abdominal pain, malaise…) that typically start a month or so after exposure and last for 4-6 weeks. People can feel pretty miserable during that period, so getting vaccinated is a good idea if your doctor recommends it.
Note that HAV symptoms can seem to appear out of nowhere due to the long lag period between infection and symptoms, and because most infections with HAV are asymptomatic.
I hope this helps.
John.
Thank you @john.tavis and @ThomasTu for your reliable and informative responses!