For Local Blog in MinneapolisBack-to-School Means Time to Immunize
September 4th, 2009
by Dr. Roger Muller senior medical director at UnitedHealthcare of the Northwest Region
Every summer, as school approaches, a common theme rings across the land: make sure your child is fully immunized.  One reason for the plea is that children who are not immunized may not attend school. In fact, we’ve heard the cry to immunize so often that the tendency of some is to simply ignore it.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month, a reminder for everyone – both children and adults – to fully comply with all recommended immunizations. This is particularly important within the Asian American community, where at least one highly preventable disease – Hepatitis B – strikes with alarming frequency.
Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Â It ranges in severity from a mild illness that lasts only a few weeks to a serious long-term affliction with numerous implications. Hepatitis B is transmitted in various ways, including contact with infectious blood, semen and other bodily fluids. Â While having intercourse with a hepatitis B-infected person and sharing contaminated needles used to inject drugs are both considered highly risky behaviors, the disease can also be contracted innocently. Â For instance, the hepatitis B virus can be spread from mother to baby during childbirth. Â Symptoms can include loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin and eyes, nausea, vomiting, fever, weakness, malaise, abdominal pain, joint pain and dark urine. Â Left untreated, hepatitis can result in liver disease, cancer and even death.
Certainly, where hepatitis B is concerned there is plenty of bad news. Â However, there also is good news. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends immunization as a simple means of avoiding this dreaded disease. Â The agency urges all infants, older children and adolescents who have yet not been inoculated to undergo vaccination for the hepatitis B virus; adults believed to be at risk for HBV infection also are urged to undergo vaccination if they have not been previously immunized.
The Immunization Action Coalition, which provides vaccination information for health care professionals, is even more succinct regarding Asian Americans. Â It recommends that all foreign-born people originating from Asia, the Pacific Islands and other regions with high HBV infection rates be tested for HBV exposure, even if they have already been vaccinated. Â Those found not to have been infected should be immunized immediately.
There is good reason for that.  According to the Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI), hepatitis B is one of the greatest health threats facing our population. While Asian Americans represent just 4 percent of the U.S. population, more than half of the 1.3 million to 1.5 million known hepatitis B carriers in the U.S. are Asian Americans.Â
Additionally, Asian Americans are three times more likely to develop liver cancer caused by hepatitis B than Caucasians, according to the AAHI. Â Compared with Caucasians, Vietnamese Americans are 13 times more likely to contract hepatitis B; Chinese Americans are eight times more likely to develop the disease; and Korean Americans are six times more likely to become infected.
While the reasons for such widespread exposure are uncertain, surveys have shown that many Asian Americans are simply unaware of the risks of hepatitis B. Â Poor health screenings and large numbers of undocumented migrants who fail to get checked also contribute to the increase in the disease, studies have shown.
While the disease is complex, the solutions for preventing it are simple: educate…and vaccinate.  The AAHI is doing its part to foster widespread vaccination by increasing knowledge and awareness and improving access to preventive measures through its Hepatitis B Program.  It is also collaborating with other hepatitis B advocacy groups to enhance the overall outreach effort and working with health care providers to improve procedures and polices affecting hepatitis B prevention.
The bottom line is this: if you haven’t been immunized for hepatitis B – or for any other disease that suggests vaccination – contact your doctor or local health department, which can provide a list of free immunization clinics.  For immunization guidelines, refer to your school district or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site.
 (Reprinted with permission of ColorsNW Magazine) ColorsNW is the only award-winning, multicultural media company in the Northwest. ColorsNW, Inc. is a multicultural media company located in Seattle, Washington. ColorsNW.com offers thought-provoking content on the business, health, education, arts and food industries, offering a fresh perspective for, and about, people of color in the Northwest.
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