In March 1997, my father, a generally healthy 58 year old, became suddenly very ill. Five weeks later he was dead.  My family learnt about the effects of the hepatitis B virus in the most dramatic way.

Infection with  hepatitis B gets you entrance into a rather grim health lottery: my father happened to be one of the very unlucky 1% who, rather than getting mild symptoms, develop fulminant liver failure and are admitted urgently to intensive care. 

My father, transferred to the Liver Unit at King’s College Hospital was, variously, at the top of the list for a liver transplant, off the list when he recovered slightly and then, when he contracted MRSA, beyond rescue.  We shall never know whether he would have survived if MRSA had not complicated the picture. Our wish was for some kind of recovery, with or without a transplant.  MRSA  ultimately ruled everything out.

Universal vaccination would have spared my father and my family much suffering.  The  UK has been advised to implement a vaccination programme and has, so far, decided against it. Awareness of this has made the process of coming to terms with his death more difficult.  We all need to go into relationships protected, as much as is possible, from infections that can be sexually-transmitted.  I do hope the Hepatitis B Foundation UK is successful in all its aims.