A short film about the development and global use of China's hepatitis E vaccine, recommended by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, won the 2026 CAETS Communication Prize on Sept 15 at the 2026 CAETS annual event in Munich, Germany.
Titled The Story of China's World-First Hepatitis E Vaccine, the film tells the story of the world's first and, to date, only licensed hepatitis E vaccine.
Hepatitis E is a viral hepatitis transmitted through the digestive system. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 20 million people become infected with hepatitis E virus each year, with 3.3 million developing symptoms of the disease.
In 1998, a research team led by Xia Ningshao at Xiamen University began research on hepatitis E. The team developed a proprietary Escherichia coli-based virus-like particle vaccine technology platform and pioneered the use of a prokaryotic expression system to develop genetically engineered vaccines. After 14 years of research, the team worked with Wantai BioPharm to develop the world's first hepatitis E vaccine, which was officially launched in China in 2012.
The vaccine was approved in Pakistan in 2020 and in India in 2025, and was used in a large-scale emergency vaccination campaign in South Sudan in 2022. International organizations, including the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and Gavi, have recognized its value for use in high-risk areas.
The International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), an organization of engineering and technological sciences academies, has awarded its annual Communication Prize since 2021 for a video that explains technological breakthroughs and engineering achievements to the public in an accessible and engaging way.
