Hepatitis E vaccine has lasting effect

Protection against leading cause of acute hepatitis lasted more than 4 years, Chinese researchers report. A vaccine against hepatitis E (HEV) provided protection against the virus for more than 4 years, researchers reported. In a randomized clinical trial, volunteers getting the HEV vaccine (Hecolin) were significantly less likely to acquire the virus than those getting a control hepatitis B vaccine, according to Ning‑Shao Xia of Xiamen University in Xiamen, China, and colleagues. Over 54 months of follow-up, more than 85% of those who received all three doses of the vaccine maintained antibodies to HEV, Xia and colleagues reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. HEV is an important cause of acute hepatitis worldwide, the researchers noted, with two distinct epidemiological patterns — waterborne infection and transmission from animals to humans and among humans. The waterborne infection, caused by HEV genotypes 1 and 2, primarily takes place in resource-limited areas, while the zoonotic and human-to-human...