Hepatitis B vaccination for injection drug users--Pierce County, Washington, 2000.
Hepatitis B vaccination has been recommended for injection drug users (IDUs) since 1982, but vaccination coverage of IDUs remains low (1), and outbreaks of hepatitis B among IDUs continue to occur. An outbreak of hepatitis B primarily among IDUs in Pierce County, Washington, detected in April 2000, included 60 cases and resulted in three deaths among IDUs co-infected with hepatitis delta virus. A program to administer hepatitis B vaccine to IDUs was implemented to control the outbreak, and the number of cases identified decreased from 13 per month in May to two cases since November. This report describes a vaccination program during which IDUs accepted hepatitis B vaccination provided free of charge in community-based settings and illustrates how effective hepatitis B vaccination programs targeted at IDUs can be implemented through collaborations between departments of health and corrections and community organizations.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003153:Community Health Services; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D008875:Middle Aged; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology
D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines