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Hepatitis E Vaccine Called Highly Effective
Innis said the researchers were surprised by the high rates of hepatitis E infection. "We knew that there was a good amount of hepatitis E in this population, but the incidence of disease in the placebo group was about twice as high as we anticipated it would be," he said. "By immunizing against hepatitis E -- an orphan disease -- we had a substantial impact on the well-being of those vaccinated. We do believe this is a product that could relieve a great deal of human suffering."
Liver specialist Dr. Tusar Desai, of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., said the study's findings are "exciting." He said he wasn't concerned that the study was done mostly with men, because men and women tend to react similarly to vaccines.
 
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What is a concern, Desai said, is that the researchers conducted the study with soldiers, who tend to be thin. And, he said, there is a difference in the way thin and overweight people process immunizations -- vaccines aren't as effective in people who carry extra weight.
Still, Desai said, when this vaccine becomes available, he would recommend it to anyone in the United States who was traveling to an area of the world where hepatitis E is endemic.
It's still not clear when the vaccine might become available.
Innis said GlaxoSmithKline is looking for public or private partnerships to "share with us some of the risk of carrying the development of this vaccine forward."
More information
To learn more about hepatitis E infection, visit the World Health Organization.
SOURCES: Bruce Innis, M.D., vice president, clinical research and development, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, Pa.; Tusar Desai, M.D., gastroenterologist and hepatologist, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich.; March 1, 2007,New England Journal of Medicine
