MANILA, 1 March 2019 - According to new data released this week, effective programmes to immunize young children against hepatitis B have enabled countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region to cut infections to less than 1% of children. However, to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of this disease by 2030, additional hepatitis B interventions for mothers and children are needed.
Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and causes nearly 900 000 deaths around the world each year, mostly from liver cirrhosis, cancer and other complications. Vaccination provides lifelong protection against hepatitis B and the associated risk of disease. WHO recommends that all children receive
Historically, the WHO Western Pacific Region has had the world’s highest prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection, but countries are taking strong measures to turn this trend around. In 1990, over 8% of children at least 5 years of age in the Region had chronic hepatitis B infection. In 2013, countries in the Region set a bold WHO-recommended target: to reduce this figure below 1% by 2017. This target was globally set for
“We’re very proud that this goal has been met – well ahead of the 2020 deadline – and congratulate the efforts of the countries and areas in the Region,” says Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific.
Progress since 2005
A joint article entitled “Progress toward Hepatitis B Control and Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus ─ Western Pacific Region, 2005–2017” was published on 1 March 2019 in WHO’s Weekly Epidemiological Record and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The article reports that between 2005 and 2017, the rate of vaccination with
Countries in the Region also need to step up efforts, the study authors write, since a high proportion of hepatitis B infections pass from mother to baby during birth. All pregnant women should be tested for hepatitis B and if necessary, promptly be given hepatitis B immunoglobulin to prevent infection in babies exposed to the virus during birth.
Addressing challenges
“Just as countries in our Region showed how they could expand newborn vaccination for hepatitis B, I’m confident they will continue progress on prevention of mother-to-child transmission for other infections too,” Dr Kasai says.
Action to reduce mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus is part of a broader initiative that includes
Notes to editors
Countries and areas of the WHO Western Pacific Region: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, France (which has responsibility for French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna), Hong Kong SAR (China), Japan, Kiribati, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macao SAR (China), Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which has responsibility for Pitcairn Islands), the United States of America (which has responsibility for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam), Vanuatu and Viet Nam.
Related links
Download the article “Progress toward Hepatitis B Control and Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus ─ Western Pacific Region, 2005–2017”: www.who.int/
Health topic page on hepatitis in the Western Pacific: www.who.int/