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Hepatitis B - Management
Basis for recommendation
These recommendations are based on the United Kingdom national guideline on the management of the viral hepatitides A, B, and C [BASHH, 2008] and are consistent with advice from other guidelines and CKS expert reviewers.
- CKS does not recommend waiting for the serology results prior to vaccinating high-risk people on the basis of urgency, opportunity, and cost (recommendation from CKS expert reviewers). People at a higher risk of prior infection should be tested alongside the first dose of vaccine, both to look for chronic disease and to look for immunity. Testing for previous exposure is only cost-effective if seroprevalence in the target population is sufficiently high. This is not usually the case in UK populations at normal risk of hepatitis B.
- The recommendation to screen immigrants from countries with a high prevalence of hepatitis B when they register with a general practice is based on expert opinion from the British Liver Trust [British Liver Trust, 2009].
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