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| Health Check: A New Vaccine
for Hepatitis B |
| Wednesday October 02, 2002 6:34pm
Reporter:
Pattie Martin Posted By:
Jeff Taylor
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Lynchburg, VA -
A treatment for a potentially deadly
form of Hepatitis is finally getting ready to hit the market. The
Federal Drug Administration has approved Hepsera to treat the
Hepatitis B.
About one million people will die this year due to chronic
hepatitis-B complications. The disease attacks the liver, and is
nearly 100 times more contagious than H-I-V. This new treatment will
allow the liver to help repair damage the disease causes.
For the last 12 years, this proud father and avid golfer has been
battling chronic hepatitis B.
Paul Burmaster, Hepsera Patient - "Once I was diagnosed with
Hepatitis-B, there were only a few drugs available and none of them
were working for me. Basically, there wasn't much hope."
Paul Burmaster is one of more than a million Americans with the
disease, who has been waiting for relief.
Dr. Teresa Wright, San Francisco, VA Medical Center -
"Hepatitis-B is dangerous because many years of infection can lead
to liver failure and liver cancer with a risk of 30 to 40 percent of
dying."
Until now, previous treatments failed to stop the disease's
progression. For Burmaster, Hepsera not only decreased levels of the
virus but improved his liver function. Hepsera works by entering
cells that are susceptible to hepatitis B, interfering with a
crucial enzyme and stopping replication of the virus by one thousand
to ten thousand fold.
Burmaster - "Now that I've been on Hepsera, my life is back to
normal and my viral count is undetectable."
Aside from treatment, hepatitis-B vaccinations are available for
all ages. It's highly recommended for all children. Here's a list of
others who might be at high risk for the disease.
-Immigrants and refugees as well as their children, even if they are
born in the U-S.
-Certain International travelers
-Health care workers and public safety workers who have contact with
blood.
-Recipients of certain blood products
-And people with more than one sex partner in six months
The new treatment, Hepsera is not available yet... but it will be
soon.
Copyright 2002 WSET, Inc.
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