Vaccination drives 20-fold drop in hepatitis B among Jordan’s younger generations

The research department at Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories, led by Dr. Issa Abu-Dayyeh, and the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), led by Professor Laith Abu-Raddad, have jointly published a landmark study on hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Jordan. The study provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of HBV in the country, highlighting both the scale of the challenge and the significant progress achieved through vaccination.

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. As of 2022, an estimated 254 million people live with chronic HBV infection globally, which causes more than 800,000 deaths each year. Those infected face a 30–40% lifetime risk of developing cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Published in the leading Journal of Viral Hepatitis, the study analyzed a national database of more than 40,000 HBV tests conducted in Jordan between 2010 and 2024. For the first time in the country, researchers measured not only prevalence but also incidence rate, clearance rate, and long-term trends.

The findings reveal a considerable HBV burden in Jordan, but also a sharp decline in prevalence—falling by about 7% each year over the past 15 years. Infection rates are now very low among individuals born after the introduction of HBV vaccination in 1995, but remain high among older generations born before widespread immunization, as can be seen in the figure.

“This study demonstrates both the success of Jordan’s vaccination program and the work that remains,” said Dr. Issa Abu-Dayyeh, first author and Head of Research at Biolab Diagnostic Laboratories. “We are witnessing a generational shift, with younger cohorts largely protected, while significant numbers of adults continue to live with chronic infection. HBV prevalence among children protected by vaccination is about 20-fold lower than in adults born before the vaccination program.”

“Our results show that HBV infection rates have been in free fall since the vaccine was introduced—a remarkable story of prevention success. Yet to meet the World Health Organization’s target of eliminating HBV by 2030, Jordan must urgently scale up birth-dose vaccination to block mother-to-child transmission, expand testing, and improve access to treatment. Screening pregnant women and treating those with high viral loads could further reduce perinatal transmission,” said Professor Laith J. Abu-Raddad, senior author of the study, Professor of Population Health Sciences, and leader of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group at WCM-Q.

With nearly 200,000 Jordanians estimated to be living with chronic HBV infection, only about 1% have been diagnosed and just 2% of those eligible have received treatment. The authors call for urgent action to close these gaps through stronger screening and linkage-to-care programs.

“This research provides vital evidence to guide Jordan’s public health strategy,” said Dr. Amid Abdelnour, co-author and Founder & CEO of Biolab. “This Jordanian-Qatari collaboration also offers an important model for other countries across the Middle East and North Africa striving to control hepatitis B.”