Hepatitis B is sometimes thought of as a sexually-transmitted disease but it can be contracted in other ways as well -- sharing a razor, a toothbrush or any other situation wherein body fluids pass from one person to another. In over half the 300,000 new cases reported each year, the actual cause of transmission remains unknown. The majority of these cases occur in people between 15 and 40 years of age.

Most adults who become infected with hepatitis B become sick for a while, then appear to recover though they then become a chronic carrier of the disease. Children react differently to the infection. If an infant contracts hepatitis B, he or she will remain unable to clear the virus and will be considered a chronically infected hepatitis B carrier.

In 1991, the American medical establishment began recommending that newborn infants be immunized against Hepatitis B and the vaccine was added to the routine immunization schedule. The first dose is deliverd before the newborn leaves the hospital. But what about the children born before 1991?

The HDHHS School-Based Adolescent Hepatitis B Immunization Initiative, a grant-funded project, addresses those children, most of whom are now in the fifth grade. The program, utilizes three employees and a corps of volunteers to administer the vaccinations to more than 7,000 children in 65 targeted schools in the Houston and Aldine Independent School Districts.

Administering a series of three shots to several thousand fifth-graders requires planning and cooperation by the school staff, parents, kids and volunteers. Staff from HDHHS's school-based program meet with school nurses and orient them to the project. The nurses orient the teachers. Teachers or nurses then educate the students about the disease.

Parent packets are given to the students to take home. The packets contain information about hepatitis B, information about the vaccine, a consent form and a

When packets are returned, program staff schedules a clinic. Volunteer nurses and staff nurses go to the school, check to ensure that paperwork is properly completed and administer the shots. Each child who receives a shot gets a sticker, a pen, a fast food coupon or some other incentive. Kids who have received all three doses get a pizza party and other small gifts.

Students who were absent during one of the clinics may complete their series of shots at a makeup clinic.

Hepatitis B is not all about pizza and packets. Education about the diesase and its prevention is the most important part of the process.