Current features of the epidemiology and prevention of hepatitis B in risk groups in Russian Federation

Abstract

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease that leads to severe health problems, with the risk of chronicity and death. The World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that about 4.5 million premature deaths from the infection could be prevented by 2030 in low- and middle-income countries through vaccination, diagnostic tests, drugs, and education campaigns. The main goal of the WHO global hepatitis strategy is to reduce new infections by 90 % and deaths by 65 % between 2016 and 2030. The successes of hepatitis B vaccine prophylaxis are the basis for setting the ambitious goal of eliminating the disease in the future. However, to date, many questions about the organization and planning of regional vaccination programs remain unresolved and provoke discussions among specialists around the world, including in Russia. In order to systematize and summarize the scientific literature on prevention, as well as to evaluate its effectiveness, we performed a literature search using the electronic bibliographic resources https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ and https://elibrary.ru/ using the key words «hepatitis B» and «vaccine prophylaxis». Analysis of scientific papers allowed us to characterize some manifestations of hepatitis B epidemic process and reveal its modern features in the territory of Russia, including risk groups. Aspects of genetic heterogeneity of HBsAg pathogen circulating in Russian territory as well as in adjoining states are given in details. The organization of vaccine prophylaxis is considered; the used immunobiological preparations are characterized. The results of the work define the role of serological studies in the system of epidemic surveillance for hepatitis B, as well as their significance for formation of adequate tactics of vaccination of the population, including in risk groups.