Hepatitis A After an Exposure: A Vaccine That Can Still Help

Most of us think about vaccines as something you get before exposure.

Hepatitis A gives us an important exception.

A long incubation period

Hepatitis A can take 15 to 50 days after exposure before symptoms begin.

That long interval creates a window in which public-health teams can identify exposed people and offer post-exposure prevention.

Vaccination after exposure

For certain people who are not already immune, hepatitis A vaccine given promptly after exposure can help prevent illness. Immune globulin may also be used in some situations.

The exact recommendation depends on age, health status, vaccination history, timing, and the type of exposure.

Why Hawaii remembers this

During Hawaii's 2016 hepatitis A outbreak, public-health officials repeatedly advised exposed, unvaccinated contacts to speak with healthcare providers about vaccine or immune globulin.

That outbreak made a usually invisible public-health tool very visible.

Prevention before and after

Routine vaccination remains simpler than chasing an exposure weeks later.

But hepatitis A is a good reminder that vaccines can sometimes be part of the emergency response as well as routine prevention.

— Nora Phillips, DNP, APRN Central Health | Wahiawa, Hawaii

Sources

Hawaii Department of Health — Hepatitis A Outbreak 2016. https://health.hawaii.gov/docd/hepatitis-a-outbreak-2016/

CDC — Hepatitis A. https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis-a/