Integration of hepatitis B immunization in the Expanded Program on Immunization of the Child Survival Project

The Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) is a component of the Child Survival Project (CSP) whose objectives are to reduce the incidence rates of six childhood diseases (Measles, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Poliomyelitis) and to reduce the number of infant deaths from those diseases by increasing effective vaccination coverage. In 1991, the CSP/EPI developed a national plan to introduce national immunization of infants against hepatitis B in an attempt to control the magnitude and seriousness of the damage which viral hepatitis causes in terms of morbidity, mortality and serious sequelae as hepatitis B is an endemic disease in Egypt causing an important public health problem which requires urgent control. This presentation will discuss the integrated effort undertaken to plan and implement the program, the different challenges it faces, control studies being performed as well as the proposed objectives of the hepatitis B vaccination program.