Home > Guidance for hepatitis A and B vaccination of drug users in primary care and criteria for audit.

Coffey, Emer and Young, David (2004) Guidance for hepatitis A and B vaccination of drug users in primary care and criteria for audit. London: Royal College of General Practitioners.

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External website: http://www.rcgp.org.uk/professional_development/su...

Injecting drug users (IDUs) are at high risk from hepatitis B due to sharing of injection equipment and through sexual spread. It is estimated that 21% of injecting drug users in England and Wales have evidence of past or current hepatitis B infection.1 Hepatitis B disease can be prevented by vaccination. IDUs have been targeted since 1988 for vaccination. Despite this, both availability of vaccination and uptake by IDUs are recognised to be poor in the UK. Proactive provision of hepatitis B vaccination through widely available services is critical for protecting this difficult to reach target group.


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