Side effects: The Hepatitis B vaccine for children may cause mild side effects such as soreness, redness, or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, sleepiness, irritability, headache, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, stomach ache, or a mild fever.
Additional precautions: Hepatitis B spreads through infected blood and body fluids. Risk can be reduced by avoiding unsterile medical or cosmetic procedures, not sharing items such as toothbrushes or razors, and practising safer sex where relevant. Travellers at risk may also want to carry a sterile medical kit when visiting areas with limited healthcare resources.
Risks caused by hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is a viral infection that affects the liver. It can cause symptoms such as tiredness, fever, nausea, stomach pain, rash, and jaundice. In some children and other higher-risk groups, the infection can become long term and lead to serious liver damage, including cirrhosis and an increased risk of liver cancer.