Banner
WHAT IS HEPATITIS B?
Share |
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver, and is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world. Worldwide, approximately two billion people have been infected with hepatitis B.1

Hepatitis B infections are either acute or chronic. Acute hepatitis B can last from a few weeks to a few months. The risk of progressing to chronic hepatitis B depends on the age at which infection first occurs. Approximately 10% of adults, up to 50% of children, and 90% of babies who become infected with the hepatitis B virus will develop chronic infection.1

Chronic hepatitis B is more serious than acute hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis B can lead to more serious liver disease, including liver cancer. A person with chronic hepatitis B may have the disease for life.

Worldwide, approximately 350 million people are infected with chronic hepatitis B.1 Some 15 to 25% of people with chronic hepatitis B will eventually die from liver disease.2

It is essential that people who are at risk of hepatitis B infection take a hepatitis B blood test.

While chronic hepatitis B cannot be cured, a doctor can prescribe certain medications that can help manage the disease.

References
1 World Health Organization. Available at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/. Accessed 1 August 2007.
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/fact.htm. Accessed 20 June 2007.