Vaccinations for hepatitis A and B

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an infection of the liver. It is caused by viruses that can be transmitted through sexual contact, infected blood, semen and vaginal secretions. Symptoms vary, but some patients will suffer jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) and flu-like symptoms.

What happens at the clinic?

When you attend the clinic we will ask you questions about your country of origin and your lifestyle to assess if you are at risk of hepatitis infection. If you are at risk, we can screen you for hepatitis A, B and C. If you are not already infected, but are at risk of acquiring these infections through your sexual partner, or if you are HIV positive, we will offer you a vaccination for hepatitis B and sometimes hepatitis A. There is no vaccination for hepatitis C.

How do you test for hepatitis A?

A blood test will show whether you are already immune to the hepatitis A virus, due to previous infection. If you are not immune you should have one injection then a booster dose 12 months later. Protection against hepatitis A begins four weeks after the first dose of hepatitis A vaccine. An initial vaccination plus booster dose is believed to give protection for over 10 years.

How do you test for hepatitis B?

If you have been at risk of hepatitis B, we will screen you using a blood test. We can provide hepatitis B vaccination in circumstance of increased sexual risk but we will direct you to your GP if you need it for other reasons, for example, occupational health or travel.

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We offer an accelerated hepatitis B vaccine course of three injections, over a period of 21 days. A blood test is then taken six weeks after the third dose to check that the immunisations have worked. We can then advise you when you need your next booster (either one or five years later).

For more information on hepatitis A and B vaccinations click here to download our information sheet.