Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by type A, B, C, D, or E hepatitis viruses (HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV, HEV). Liver disease can lead to a number of health problems, some of which can be fatal. HBV and HCV are particularly threatening, leading to chronic diseases in hundreds of millions of people. Together they are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and deaths associated with viral hepatitis worldwide. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), 354 million people worldwide live with a hepatitis B or C infection. Vaccines are available in Europe to protect against hepatitis A and B. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, performs a variety of tasks connected to the development and provision of safe blood products and safe, effective vaccines to protect against hepatitis infections.
How do hepatitis viruses spread?
Source: Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
Every year about 1.1 million people worldwide die as a result of an infection with HBV or HCV. HAV is not chronic and patients usually recover completely. Both monovalent (single vaccines) against hepatitis A and hepatitis B, bivalent combination vaccines against hepatitis A and B, and hexavalent combination vaccines with a hepatitis B component for children are available in the EU as preventative measures. There are no vaccines against HCV, HDV, or HEV that have been authorised in the EU. However, vaccination against HBV also protects against HDV. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut is responsible for the quality, efficacy and safety of all vaccines.
The tasks of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut also include monitoring the safety of blood and blood products and mandating any protective measures necessary. One protective measure in place is the requirement for blood donors to be tested for the hepatitis viruses A, B, C, and, since 1 January 2020, the hepatitis E virus, in order to detect an infection and to prevent transmission through blood components. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut's latest haemovigilance report for 2021 shows that there were no confirmed transmissions of hepatitis viruses.
One goal of the Virology Division's research work on HBV, HCV and HEV at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut is to test concepts for the immunotherapeutic treatment of HBV infection in animal models. Although there are very good, safe, and effective preventive HBV vaccines, there are no therapeutically effective vaccines that can cure chronically infected HBV patients. Researchers at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut have found that HBV, HCV, and HEV use exosomes as a means of transport. Exosomes are tiny vesicles that are released by cells and serve as transport vehicles to eject cell components, such as nucleic acids or proteins, from the cell. Infected cells also deliver viruses via this transport pathway and can infect further cells. This discovery could lead to an immunotherapeutic approach to treatment.
Updated: 28.07.2023
