§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what expert advice he has received or has requested about the advantages of(a) antenatal screening for and (b) infant vaccination against hepatitis B; and if he will make a statement. [20211]
§ Mr. HoramThe United Kingdom has one of the lowest prevalence rates of hepatitis B carriage in the world. Our current policy is to target immunisation at groups at increased risk of infection including babies born to women who are chronic carriers of the hepatitis B virus or who have had acute hepatitis B infection during pregnancy.
The National Screening Committee is considering the antenatal screening programme for hepatitis B and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is considering what may be the most appropriate future strategy for the control of hepatitis B, in the context of the whole childhood immunisation programme.
§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from the Children's Liver Disease Foundation about(a) antenatal screening for and (b) infant vaccination against hepatitis B; and if he will make a statement. [20212]
§ Mr. BurnsI met representatives of the Children's Liver Disease Foundation on 11 March. Antenatal screening for hepatitis B and childhood Immunisation against hepatitis B were among the matters discussed at the meeting.