The Hepatitis B Virus and Vaccination Essay -- Exploratory Essays Rese

The Hepatitis B Virus and Vaccination    The hepatitis B virus (HBV) has a long history of being shrouded in mystery concerning its cause and transmission and the treatment of its resulting symptoms and diseases. As more was learned about the virus in the first half of this century, it came to be identified largely with homosexuals and intravenous drug users. Due to its prevalence among such already marginalized members of society, hepatitis B was viewed as a highly stigmatized disease and further research concerning HBV was not a top priority in the United States. However, these sentiments have changed somewhat in the past several decades, due in part to the spread of HBV to a wider, non-stigmatized, segment of society. By studying more patients and devoting more research energy to HBV, the biology of the virus is more clearly understood. This increased biological knowledge provided for the development of a vaccine against hepatitis B. With the advent of a vaccine, hepatitis B has lost much of its stigmatization and, as a known and in many cases preventable disease, is now viewed much more favorably by the medical community. Controversy concerning HBV remains in the form of debate about the effectiveness, safety, and necessity of the vaccination, and this debate is better understood through an understanding of the history of HBV, development of the vaccination, and views towards both through time. The development of the HBV vaccine has followed a fairly straightforward and logical path. It is believed that HBV has been present in human populations for thousands of years, based primarily on descriptions of common hepatitis B symptoms in ancient texts (Blumberg, p. 402). However, since many of the mild symptoms of HBV are sha... ...cine is Life-Saving" [Online]Available: http://www.hepnet.com/hepb/news012599.html [February 26, 1999]. Blumberg, Baruch. (1988) "Hepatitis B Virus and the Carrier Problem" in Social Research , vol. 55, no. 3; pp. 401-412. Lee, Samuel, M.D. (1997) "Hepatitis Vaccination: Questions and Answers" [Online]Available: http://www.hepnet.com/update11.html [February 26, 1999]. Muraskin, William. (1995) The War Against Hepatitis B . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:University of Pennsylvania Press. Murray, Rosenthal, Kobayashi, and Pfaller. (1998) Medical Microbiology, 3rd Edition .St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Publishing Co. pp. 526-532. Schumacher, Karin (Webmaster). (1999) "Hepatitis B Vaccine Reaction Reports Outnumber Reported Disease Cases in Children According to Vaccine Safety Group" [Online] Available: http://www.909shot.com/hepatitisb.htm [February 26, 1999].