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Subject: PREVENTION OF HEPATITIS A IN SOLDIERS                           

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003205

Folder Title: HEPATITIS A - VACCINES                                                                          

Document Number:          1

Folder Seq  #:         62








            Enclosure 1.

            Prevention of Hepatitis A in soldiers

            I. Background

                Hepatitis A can interrupt battle and force loss of territory.
            It must be prevented. The Armed Forces Medical Intelligence
            Center (AFMIC) indicates that hepatitis A is a "High risk" to
            operations in Saudi Arabia based on the following observations.

               A. 90% of Saudi children have antibody to hepatitis A by age
               10. Virtually 100% of adults have antibody. (This figure
               presumably also applies to potential adversaries.)

               B. Hepatitis A is listed as the viral etiology for over 50%
               of the reported acute hepatitis cases at local clinics.

               C. In studies carried out by the Walter Reed Army Institute
               of Research on soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air
               Assault), at Ft. Campbell, KY, we found that only 15% of
               soldiers have antibody to hepatitis A.

            II. Prevention of Hepatitis A by immune serum globulin

                 Since WWII, we have successfully used immune serum globulin
            to prevent this disease. This is an unsatisfactory prophylaxis,
            since uncomfortable shots of a plasma derived product must be
            given every 6 months. Moreover, the requirements of Operation
            Desert Shield have exhausted the available supply of ISG in the
            United States. Permanent active immunization by means of a
            vaccine is medically and logistically preferable.

            III. Development of Hepatitis A vaccine

                Realizing the need for a hepatitis A vaccine, WRAIR has
            pioneered an effort to develop such a product. The first
            formalin inactivated cell culture derived hepatitis A vaccine was
            developed at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research about 10
, and
            all developed antibody. Further studies at Ft. Lewis,
            Washington, confirmed the imnunogenicity and safety of this
            prototype vaccine.   Having demonstrated the feasibility of the
            product, a Request For Proposals was published. We interviewed
            several prospective industrial partners. "No-dollar agreements"
            were signed with Smith Kline Beecham and the Swiss Serum
            Institute. we provided them with extensive information on the
            production of hepatitis A vaccine and continued our own in-house
            development efforts. We have now carried out a total of 5
            studies of hepatitis A vaccines in military volunteers.

               A. Smith Kline


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Document 7 f:/Week-36/BX003205/HEPATITIS A - VACCINES/prevention of hepatitis a in soldiers:01029715472734
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003205
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = HEPATITIS A - VACCINES
Folder Seq # = 62
Subject = PREVENTION OF HEPATITIS A IN SOLDIERS
Document Seq # = 1
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 02-JAN-1997