Hepatitis E Vaccine Appears Safe, Effective

A vaccine for hepatitis E appears safe and effective, says a study. It included more than 100,000 people. Half received the hepatits E vaccine. The other half got a placebo. In the following year, no one in the vaccine group got hepatitis E. Fifteen people in the placebo group got it. Hepatitis E is one of five known forms of a virus that affects the liver. The disease is usually mild, but can be dangerous in pregnant women and people with liver problems. The study was published in The Lancet on August 22. Reuters wrote about it the same day.