Hepatitis A Prevention and Control Technology and Vaccination Conference Held in Beijing

The prevention and control of hepatitis A for children make significant progress while there is still immunity gap in adults

Hepatitis A is an acute gastrointestinal infectious disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. There is no specific treatment so far, and supportive treatment measures are mainly adopted. The Global Burden of Disease 2019 data estimated 159 million cases of acute hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection worldwide. Vaccination against hepatitis A is an economical and effective measure to prevent hepatitis A. 

Prof. Fuzhen Wang of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

China included the hepatitis A vaccine in the National Immunization Program in 2008, the epidemic and spread of hepatitis A in China have been effectively controlled. From 1990 to 2023, the reported incidence of hepatitis A dropped significantly from 52.6/100 000 to 0.82/100 000, showing a low-level epidemic trend nationwide. At the same time, the epidemiology of hepatitis A in China has changed. After 2009, the proportion of reported cases in the age group over 40 years old gradually increased, and a similar trend was observed in the number of deaths. With the improvement of the sanitary environment and the increase in children's vaccine coverage, adults have gradually become the main group of hepatitis A cases.

Prof. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim of Philippine General Hospital

Prof. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim from Philippine General Hospital spoke at the conference: "The Philippines has not yet included hepatitis A vaccine in the national immunization program, but it is recommended that children aged 12 months and above be vaccinated with hepatitis A vaccine. Currently, the hepatitis A antibody seropositivity rate among young people in the Philippines is low, and they are a high-risk group for hepatitis A virus infection."

Dr. Ariani Dewi Widodo, MD, PhD of Harapan Kita National Center for Women and Children's Health

Safe and effective hepatitis A vaccines is crucial in the prevention and control of hepatitis A in children. Dr. Ariani Dewi Widodo expressed her view that the use of inactivated hepatitis A vaccines has become a key way to control the spread of hepatitis A. In 2022, SINOVAC's hepatitis A vaccine was approved by the Indonesian Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Studies have shown that inactivated vaccines are particularly suitable for children and immunocompromised people due to the high safety of inactivated vaccines. Inactivated vaccines can also be safely administered with other vaccines, effectively simplifying the vaccination procedure.

Prof. Derly Carolina Hernandez Moreno of the Hospital Militar Central in Bogota, Colombia

"Since Colombia started vaccinating 12-month-old children against hepatitis A in 2013, the overall incidence of hepatitis A has been declining," said Prof. Derly Carolina Hernandez Moreno of the Central Military Hospital in Bogota, Colombia. "However, from 2023 to 2024, the incidence of hepatitis A in Colombia increased, with local outbreaks occurring mainly in the 20-39 age group, such as students, teaching staff, and food handlers, accounting for a high proportion of the total number of cases."

Mr. Ihnatau Kiryl of the Republican Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health of Republic of Belarus

Belarusian epidemiologist Ihnatau Kiryl also stated at the conference that the incidence of hepatitis A in Belarus increased in 2023, with the adult population accounting for more than 80% of the disease. Most of the confirmed cases had not been vaccinated against hepatitis A, and the source of infection and transmission route have not yet been determined.

Hepatitis A infection in adults has increased in China, and experts recommend adults take vaccines.

Prof. Li Zhang of the Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Studies have shown that, unlike young children who are mostly asymptomatic, adults infected with hepatitis A virus are mostly symptomatic. In addition, as age increases, the risk of hospitalization and death for adult patients will also be higher. Prof. Li Zhang pointed out, "70%-95% of adult infections have symptoms, usually manifested as acute onset, such as fever, anorexia, nausea and vomiting, upper abdominal pain, jaundice, etc."

Prof. Wang Fuzhen said: "The hepatitis A outbreak in the United States between 2016 and 2023 gave us a warning call and demonstrated that hepatitis A is still a global public health issue. The number of hepatitis A cases in Liaoning Province, China in the first half of 2024 was 6.2 times that of the same period of the previous year. It's worth nothing that cases were concentrated in the 35-59 age group, accounting for 80.23%, of which the 40-44 age group was the largest. All the facts showed the potential risk of clustered hepatitis A outbreaks in adults."

In order to cope with the risk of hepatitis A epidemic in adults, the United States and South Korea have begun to recommend hepatitis A vaccination for high-risk adult groups. The plan for a Healthy China 2030 issued by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee also recommends that people in the food industry, daycares, and living in dormitories should be vaccinated against hepatitis A. The Expert Recommendations on Hepatitis A Vaccination for Adults issued by the Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control in 2023 pointed out that in addition to the above-mentioned groups, people in disaster areas, men who have sex with men (MSM), and travelers to areas of high endemicity without being immunized are also susceptible to hepatitis A virus. 

The Expert Recommendations on Hepatitis A Vaccination for Adults points out that China included the hepatitis A vaccine in the national immunization program in 2008, and the vaccination rate of children has increased. In addition, the improvement of socio-economic and sanitary conditions has led to a significant reduction in the incidence of hepatitis A in recent years, but the incidence of hepatitis A in adults has gradually increased. Hepatitis A vaccination for adults is an important measure to prevent hepatitis A. It is recommended that adults over 18 years old who did not infect hepatitis A or not have a full course of hepatitis A vaccination be vaccinated. Among them, adults aged 18-39 can be vaccinated directly; adults aged 40 and above can be tested for anti-HAV IgG before vaccination, and those with negative test results can be vaccinated, but it is also safe not to conduct anti-HAV IgG screening before vaccination. 

The 69th World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2016 adopted the Global Health Sector Strategy (GHSS): Viral Hepatitis (2017-2021), which was initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote global efforts to respond to viral hepatitis and reduce the spread, disease burden and mortality of viral hepatitis by setting goals and guidelines. The strategy proposes to eliminate the public health threat of viral hepatitis by 2030. In 2022, the overall goal of the WHO for specific diseases in the GHSS for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections 2022-2030 is to eliminate the prevalence of AIDS, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections by 2030.

Prof. Yu Wang stressed: "China is taking actions to eliminate hepatitis, adopting a way of covering the whole population and the infectious period from preventing infection to active treatment to prevent complications and family transmission. Prevention and control are critical."

40 years of scientific research perseverance, jointly building the wall against hepatitis A prevention and control

At this conference, Chinese and foreign experts expressed their admiration for Mr. Yin's successful isolation of the hepatitis A virus strain TZ84 as early as 1984, his subsequent development of hepatitis A diagnostic reagents, and ultimately China's first inactivated hepatitis A vaccine, and congratulated the 40th anniversary of the successful isolation of the TZ84 strain.

Until the mid-1990s, hepatitis A threatened people's health in China. In order to gain a deeper understanding of hepatitis A, Mr. Yin Weidong successfully isolated the hepatitis A virus under the guidance of Prof. Chongbai Liu of the Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. In June 1985, a strain of hepatitis A virus isolated by Mr. Yin's team using human embryonic lung diploid cells (2BS strain) passed the expert appraisal organized by the Hebei Provincial Health Department. Experts confirmed that this hepatitis A virus strain has the characteristics of a short passage cycle and high antigen titer, reaching the advanced international and Chinese domestic levels. Because the virus strain originated from the stool specimen of a patient named Zhang in Tangshan in 1984, it was named the "TZ84 strain".

The successful isolation of the TZ84 strain and the launch of the first domestic inactivated hepatitis A vaccine, Healive®, marked the starting point of SINOVAC's development. Healive® has been anchored to international standards since its industrialization, while actively conducting clinical research and accumulating a large amount of evidence.

At this conference, Dr. Gang Zeng, senior medical director of the Clinical Research and Development Center of SINOVAC, shared the numerous clinical studies conducted by SINOVAC on the Hepatitis A vaccine since its launch. These studies have verified the vaccine's effectiveness in terms of safety.

In December 2017, Healive^® passed the WHO pre-certification (PQ). It is still the only inactivated hepatitis A vaccine in China that has passed the WHO PQ. Over 20 years since its launch, Healive^® has been used more than 100 million doses worldwide and exported to more than 30 countries. It has been included in immunization programs in a large number of countries in Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and other regions, and now it continues to contribute greatly to global hepatitis A prevention and control.

About SINOVAC

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SINOVAC) is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases.

SINOVAC's product portfolio includes vaccines against COVID-19, enterovirus 71 (EV71) infected Hand-Foot-Mouth disease (HFMD), hepatitis A, varicella, influenza, poliomyelitis, pneumococcal disease, and mumps.

The COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac®, has been approved for use in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide. The hepatitis A vaccine, Healive®, passed WHO prequalification requirements in 2017. The EV71 vaccine, Inlive®, is an innovative vaccine under "Category 1 Preventative Biological Products" and was commercialized in China in 2016. In 2022, SINOVAC's Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV) and varicella vaccine were prequalified by the WHO.

SINOVAC was the first company to be granted approval for its H1N1 influenza vaccine Panflu.1®, which has supplied the Chinese government's vaccination campaign and stockpiling program. The Company is also the only supplier of the H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine, Panflu®, to the Chinese government stockpiling program.

SINOVAC continually dedicates itself to new vaccine R&D, with more combination vaccine products in its pipeline, and constantly explores global market opportunities. SINOVAC plans to conduct more extensive and in-depth trade and cooperation with additional countries, and business and industry organizations.

For more information, please see the Company’s website at www.sinovac.com.

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