Travelers Now Can Get Vaccine For Hepatitis A

A new vaccine is now available to protect international travelers from hepatitis A.

The vaccine from Smith-Kline Beecham provides protection for up to one year, longer with a booster, and was licensed in February. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now drafting a recommendation for its use by those traveling from developed countries to developing countries where sanitary and water conditions are not the same, said a CDC spokeswoman. Basically, that’s everywhere but Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe. The vaccine must be administered four weeks before departure, she said.

This is good news for travelers, since immune globulin, an immune system booster, long used to minimize the risk of contracting hepatitis A, has been in short supply since last fall. Immune globulin, which works for three to six months, may be administered just before leaving home or up to two weeks after exposure to the disease.

An increased demand for immune globulin by the military for troops going to Haiti and the Middle East, the fact that it’s made from a finite resource, plasma, and that there’s only one commercial producer, Armour Pharmaceuticals, contributed to the shortage, said a company spokewoman. “While there are supplies for emergency situations, most travel clinics are now out of it,” Beth Leahy said. The company is boosting production by 25 percent and hopes to restore supply levels in the next few months.

The CDC has a 24-hour Travelers’ Hotline that provides recorded info by phone, (404) 332-4559, or fax, (404) 332-4565, on health recommendations and needed immunizations.