Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a liver disease. It is caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is spread through contact with the blood, or other body fluids, of an infected person. Adolescents and adults can be infected through sharing drug needles or through unprotected sex, and health-care and public safety workers are often exposed to blood in the course of their jobs. Pregnant women can infect their newborn babies. People infected with hepatitis B might not feel sick, or might suffer loss of appetite or tiredness, muscle or stomach pains, diarrhea or vomiting, or yellow skin or eyes (jaundice).

            People usually recover from hepatitis B after several weeks, but others become “chronically infected.” They might not feel sick themselves, but they continue to carry the virus and can infect other people. A baby who is born to a chronically infected mother has a 70%–90% chance of being infected at birth. Many people who are chronically infected will suffer from serious problems such as cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or liver cancer.