Addressing Global Health Problems IAID helps improve the health and productivity of people throughout the world by supporting research aimed at preventing or curing diseases that may be rare in the United States but common overseas. In so doing, scientists are better able to respond to newly emerging diseases and to domestic public health threats that originate in other countries. These overseas efforts provide a point of entry into emerging foreign markets for U.S. health care products and biomedical technology. Most cases occur in countries with poor sanitation, and persons traveling to countries where hepatitis A is endemic are at high risk for infection.
Infection can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, jaundice, and diarrhea.
In rare cases, hepatitis A can be fatal. A single dose of the vaccine is protective. With a booster in 6 to 12 months, the vaccine is expected to protect against hepatitis A for up to 10 years. Previously, the only protection against HAV was injection of human immune serum globulin, or immunoglobulin, a blood product prepared from pooled plasma of healthy adult donors. However, immunoglobulin offered protection only for 3 to 6 months.