All survivors of Palestinian suicide bomb attacks in Israel will from now be vaccinated against hepatitis B, the health ministry decided last week.
The policy was set after the ministry's infectious disease laboratory found that two of the recent suicide bombers were carriers of hepatitis B and that a passer by who was wounded in the blast had a fragment of a bomber's bone in his body.
Dr Paul Slater, the ministry's chief epidemiologist, said no case of hepatitis B infection was known to have been transmitted this way, but added, “We are vaccinating against the virus just in case, as a precautionary measure.”
Any bloodborne disease with a carrier stage, such as hepatitis B and C and AIDS, could theoretically be passed on to anyone whose skin is penetrated by biological material from a suicide bomber, he continued. There is no protective vaccine against hepatitis C and HIV, but the hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective, he said.
Dr Slater noted that the incubation period for hepatitis B was about six weeks. “It takes about 10 days after the vaccination for it to be protective, so there is plenty of time for it to take effect after the incident,” he said.
Hepatitis B is endemic in the Middle East. About 10% of the Arab population in Israel and the Palestinian territories are carriers, compared with only 1-2% of the Jewish population. Dr Slater did not think that the suicide bombers were specifically chosen because they were carriers. “It probably was only a coincidence,” he said.
A minority of Israeli adults have been vaccinated against hepatitis B, but the vaccine has routinely been given to all infants born in Israel since 1992. All workers—including doctors, nurses, ambulance volunteers, and burial staff—who deal with the dead and wounded after terrorist attacks are vaccinated against hepatitis B.
The suicide bombers conceal explosives packed with metal nails and bolts to amplify the damage.
The bombing at a pizza restaurant in Jerusalem on 9 August killed 15 people and injured 132. Three days later 20 teenagers were wounded by a suicide bomber in a cafe in Haifa. Twenty one people died and more than 90 were injured when a suicide bomber attacked the Dolphinarium discotheque, Tel Aviv, in June.
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AP PHOTO/BRYAN MCBURNEY
Israeli police clear up after a suicide bomb attack