Hepatitis B: What You Need to Know

What is Hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B is a leading cause of liver cancer.

Basic Facts

• Hepatitis B affects almost 300 million people worldwide, including over 6 million children under age 5
• About 2 in 3 people with hepatitis B do not know they are infected
• Hepatitis B is not spread through food or water
• If you have hepatitis B, you are also at risk for hepatitis D. If you test positive for hepatitis B, you should also be tested for hepatitis D.

Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), represent less than 5% of the total US population, but they account for 50% of the nearly one million Americans living with chronic hepatitis B.

How it Spreads

Hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable virus that is transmitted when blood, semen, or other body fluids from an HBV-infected person enters the body of someone who is not infected. This can happen through sexual contact; sharing needles, syringes, or other drug-injection equipment; or during birth when HBV can be transmitted from mother to child.

Symptoms

Not all people newly infected with hepatitis B (HBV) have symptoms, but for those who do, symptoms can include:

• Fatigue
• Poor appetite
• Stomach pain
• Nausea
• Jaundice

Diagnosis & Treatment

Your healthcare provider will examine you, looking for signs of liver damage. Blood tests and liver ultrasound will be taken and possibly a liver biopsy.

Avoid alcohol/tobacco, and eat healthy foods. There are approved drugs that control the hepatitis B (HBV) virus, which helps reduce the risk of your HBV getting worse.

Prevention

The best way to prevent hepatitis B is to get vaccinated.

Source: cdc.gov