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Protecting babies against Hepatitis B

    ABIDJAN

    The health authorities in Cape Verde have now included Hepatitis-B among diseases for which babies are vaccinated. The hepatitis vaccinations started on 1 January and target infants under the age of one year, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported.

    The introduction of the hepatitis vaccine is being funded by a grant of US $207,000 provided to Cape Verde through UNICEF by the Italian government, a UNICEF source told IRIN on Thursday. The grant covers the period 2001-2004, the source said. Under the programme, children received the first of three doses within seven days of their birth. Follow-up vaccinations are administered one month and six months later.

    The Hepatitis-B virus is spread when blood or other body fluid from an infected person enters the body of a person who is not immune. An infected mother can transmit the virus to her baby during birth.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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