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Beasley Urges Global Hepatitis B Vaccination in 13th Annual Dorothy M. Horstmann LectureR. Palmer Beasley, M.D., Dean and Ashbel Smith Professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, stressed the importance and feasibility of worldwide vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) as he delivered the 13th Annual Dorothy M. Horstmann Lecture on Wednesday, March 31.
Beasley’s goal is the global eradication of hepatitis B, a serious public health problem in many parts of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. He cited World Health Organization data indicating that there are 1-2 billion infected persons and 350 million chronic carriers worldwide. Those who are chronically infected have a high risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer, which cause approximately one million deaths each year. Beasley argued that stemming the spread of hepatitis B is possible even in the poorest and most remote areas of the world. He said that because perinatal transmission is “the driving force in sustaining infection” worldwide, vaccination of babies immediately after birth is critical. Beasley noted that the hepatitis B vaccine is highly effective, provides protection of long duration, and is relatively inexpensive (though its cost is prohibitive for poor countries). Beasley said that in part because the use of a cold chain system is not necessary to maintain the vaccine’s potency, the vaccine has been used successfully even when administered by illiterate midwives in remote settings that lack electricity. The biggest impediment to global eradication of hepatitis B is a lack of political will, Beasley argued. He urged the pediatricians in the audience to use their influence on the topic of immunization to press for global hepatitis B vaccination programs, and cited the work of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) as a hopeful sign for the future.
Beasley’s career achievements include groundbreaking research on HBV transmission and prevention, and on the role that HBV plays in liver cancer. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the 1985 King Faisal International Prize in Medicine, the 1987 Charles S. Mott General Motors Prize for Research on Cancer, the 1999 Prince Mahidol Award for Medicine, and Taiwan’s Health Medal of the First Order. Beasley received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, his M.D. from Harvard, and his master’s degree in preventive medicine from the University of Washington. He is currently serving as Chair of the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). The Horstmann Lecture honors the late Dr. Dorothy M. Horstmann, who in
1961 became the first woman to become full professor at the Yale School
of Medicine and the first woman to hold an endowed chair at Yale (the
John Rodman Paul Professorship). Dr. Horstmann’s area of expertise
was in infectious diseases, particularly poliomyelitis and rubella. Her
research on the polio virus helped pave the way for the development of
the polio vaccine. The endowed lecture is co-sponsored by EPH and the
Department of Pediatrics. - Story by Christy Gordon. |
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