What Is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is an infection that affects the liver, and it is caused by Hepatitis B virus. There are five types of hepatitis, namely, hepatitis A, B,C,D and E. Hepatitis B is potentially life threatening.
Hep B can develop into chronic liver disease and put people at high risk of death from cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver and liver cancer.
Hepatitis B is a silent epidemic because most people do not have symptoms when they are newly infected or chronically infected.
Thus, they can unknowingly and silently spread the virus.
People who are chronically infected but do not have any symptoms, still silently could have the liver being damaged, and this can lead to liver cirrhosis or liver failure or cancer.
Symptoms Of Hepatitis B
Signs and symptoms of hepatitis B range from mild to severe. They usually appear about one to four months after you have been infected, although you could see them as early as two weeks post-infection. Some people, usually young children, may not have any symptoms.
Hepatitis B virus can cause an acute illness with symptoms that last several weeks. This includes:
- Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
- Dark urine
- Extreme fatigue
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Fever
- Joint pain
People with chronic (long-term) hepatitis B infection later develop complications like liver failure, cirrhosis (scarring) and liver failure.
