What is Hepatitis B? 

Hepatitis B is an infection that affects the Liver, which is caused by the Hepatitis B Virus. 

This is the most serious type of viral hepatitis.

Hepatitis B infection causes chronic liver disease and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer 

In 2019, hepatitis B resulted in an estimated 820,000 deaths, mostly from Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer). 

The hepatitis B virus is 50 times more infectious than HIV. 

Hepatitis B begins as short-term infections but in some people, the virus remains in the body and causes chronic, or lifelong, infection.    

When a person is first infected with the hepatitis B virus, it is called an “acute infection” (or a new infection).  An acute hepatitis B infection may last up to six months (with or without symptoms) and infected persons are able to pass the virus to others during this time. 

Recovery from an acute infection means that  the virus is no longer in your blood, but lives in the liver in an inactive state. You cannot infect anyone else, and you are not considered to be infected. However, the virus that is in your liver can be re-activated in the future if you take medications that suppress the immune system. This can be dangerous to the liver. 

People who test positive for the hepatitis B virus for more than six months(after their first blood test result) are diagnosed as having Chronic infection.  This means their immune system was not able to get rid of the hepatitis B virus and it still remains in their blood and liver

 

Symptoms of Hepatitis B 

• Hepatitis B infection is mostly asymptomatic, that means they show no signs of illness. 
• However, Hepatitis B virus can cause an acute illness with symptoms that last several weeks, including yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.  
• People with chronic (long-term) hepatitis B infection may later develop serious problems like liver failure, cirrhosis and liver cancer.