Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver that affects millions of people around the world each year. Hepatitis B can be either acute, which means it resolves after a relatively short period of time, or chronic, meaning it doesn’t go away. Chronic hepatitis B is especially risky because it can lead to more serious liver conditions like cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Hepatitis B Statistics
Hepatitis B is responsible for 80 percent of all liver cancer diagnoses. And each year, complications of hepatitis B kill between 600,000 and one million people worldwide.
In the United States, there are roughly 40,000 new cases of hepatitis B each year, but since 1990, U.S. hepatitis B rates have fallen more than 80 percent. The hepatitis B vaccine is the primary cause of this dramatic shift.
Hepatitis B Transmission
The hepatitis B virus is spread through contact with infected bodily fluids, including semen. In fact, hepatitis B is significantly more contagious than other types of sexually transmitted infections.
Hepatitis B can also be spread through a blood transfusion if the donated blood is contaminated. Even a tiny amount of dried blood, such as the amount of blood left on a needle after it had been used, poses a risk to health care professionals as well as intravenous drug users who share needles. Hepatitis B can stay alive and infectious for up to a week on surfaces.
Babies whose mothers have hepatitis B are at a high risk for contracting the virus. This is how most people around the world become infected, according to experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Hepatitis B Prevention
The hepatitis B vaccine is the best available prevention strategy. The vaccine consists of three or four shots over six months and, when the whole series is completed, it offers more than 90 percent protection.
The CDC recommends the vaccine for all infants, children, young adults under 19 years old, and any adults who may be at risk for hepatitis B.
Those at high risk who should be vaccinated include:
- Health care workers
- International travelers to areas where hepatitis B is prevalent
- People with certain medical conditions including HIV, kidney disease, and liver disease
- Household members or sex partners of people with hepatitis B
- IV drug users
Duration and Symptoms of Hepatitis B
The symptoms of hepatitis B vary from person to person, and can range from mild to severe. Symptoms also vary according to whether the disease is acute or chronic.
In most people, acute hepatitis B symptoms start to appear around three months after exposure. Typically, symptoms start to diminish after a few weeks, but in some cases, the illness can linger for six months or more.
Acute hepatitis B causes the following symptoms:
- Discolored urine and stools
- Diminished appetite
Chronic hepatitis B lasts a lifetime and can lead to serious liver complications. Even if you do not have symptoms, blood tests can determine whether the virus remains in your body, and treatment can help you minimize your risk of liver damage.
Typically, people with chronic hepatitis B have no symptoms for 20 years or more. In some cases, people with chronic hepatitis B notice periodic episodes of symptoms similar to those experienced by people with acute hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B Treatment
There is no specific treatment for acute hepatitis B, but there are treatment options for relieving the symptoms and getting the best possible nutrition.
Treatment for chronic hepatitis B will depend on its severity. Although there is no cure for chronic hepatitis B, effective management strategies are available to prevent or lessen the damage that could be done to the liver by long-term hepatitis B infection.
Besides ongoing monitoring by a doctor who has experience treating hepatitis B, some medications may be suggested. There are seven approved drugs for hepatitis B:
- Intron A (interferon alpha)
- Pegasys (PEGylated interferon)
- Epivir-HBV, Zeffix, or Heptodin (lamivudine)
- Hepsera (adefovir dipivoxil)
- Baraclude (entecavir)
- Tyzeka or Sebivo (telbivudine)
- Viread (tenofovir)
Experts also recommend avoiding alcohol and checking with your doctor or pharmacist about possible interactions between hepatitis medications and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and prescriptions for other conditions. Alcohol and some medications can damage the liver. In particular, the pain reliever acetaminophen should be used only as directed by a physician as it can cause liver damage if used frequently or in high dosages.
Infants and children under 5 years old have a harder time with the virus; 10 to 30 percent get well, but the others become chronic carriers of the virus, which puts them at higher risk for liver complications down the road. Between 90 and 95 percent of adults fully recover from acute hepatitis B, but the remainder develop the chronic form of the disease. In chronic cases, careful monitoring by a medical team will be necessary to maintain liver health.