Hepatitis B
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Hepatitis B is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis B can be an acute, short-term infection or a chronic, long-lasting infection. Asian American people represent 7 percent of the U.S. population and more than half of the people in the U.S. living with chronic hepatitis B. African American people have the second-highest rate of chronic hepatitis B. If you are living with chronic hepatitis B, talk to your health care provider about starting a treatment regimen.
What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes inflammation of the liver. It is spread by:
- Having unprotected sex with an infected person
- Sharing contaminated razors, toothbrushes, or needles
- Coming in contact with infected blood like from an open wound or transfusion
- Mother to baby during vaginal or cesarean birth
Hepatitis B infection may be acute (short term) or chronic (long term).
Acute hepatitis B symptoms can last from a few weeks to up to six months and may include:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Joint Pain
- Loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain
- Yellow eyes and skin (jaundice)
- Clay-colored bowel movements
- Dark urine
- Nausea and/or vomiting
Chronic hepatitis B infection occurs when the virus remains in a person’s body. People living with chronic HBV can spread the virus to others, even if they do not feel or look sick themselves. Over time, chronic HBV can cause scarring of the liver, liver failure, liver cancer, or even death.
Hepatitis B prevention
The best way to prevent hepatitis B infections is by getting vaccinated. Hepatitis B vaccines are safe, effective, and are recommended for everyone up to 59 years of age. Hepatitis B vaccines are also available to adults 60 years and older. Talk to a health care provider or local health department about getting vaccinated against hepatitis B at any age.
Know Your Status
All adults aged 18 years and older should get screened for hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime. Infants, pregnant people, and people at increased risk should also be screened. Talk to a health care provider about your risk for Hepatitis B and how to get tested.
Hepatitis B treatments
People living with chronic hepatitis B should be monitored regularly by their health care provider for signs of liver disease and evaluated for possible treatment. There are three types of treatment options for chronic HBV.
- Antiviral medications: Medications taken by mouth to help your body fight the virus and reduce the risk of liver damage.
- Interferon injections: Injections consisting of interferons, which are substances produced by cells in the body to help fight the infection.
- Liver transplant: If chronic hepatitis B leads to liver failure or liver cancer, then a liver transplant may be needed as a last resort. A transplant is a surgical procedure that removes the unhealthy liver and replaces it with a healthy liver from a donor.
Hepatitis B and clinical trails
FDA encourages diverse participation in clinical trials. If you think a clinical trial may be right for you, talk to your health care provider. You can also search for clinical trials in your area at www.ClinicalTrials.gov.
For more information on health equity, visit www.fda.gov/healthequity.
Download Hepatitis B Resources
- Fact Sheet: Hepatitis B
- Brochure: Know Your Status and Treat Hepatitis B
- Infographics: What Is Hepatitis B?
Additional Languages
We hope that you find these translations useful. While the agency has attempted to obtain translations that are as faithful as possible to the English version, we recognize that the translated versions may not be as precise, clear, or complete as the English version. The official versions of these materials are the English versions.
下列文件可用若干种文字阅读。美国食品药物监督管理局是为方便国际各界而提供这些译文的；希望它们对您有帮助。本局的心愿是力图让文件译文尽可能忠实于英文原文，但我们也知道译文会有不如原文精确、明晰的情况，甚至会有漏译的地方。因此，英文版是这些文件的正式文本。
以下文件有幾種外語版本。美國食品及藥物管理局將這些翻譯作為一種服務提供給廣大的國際讀者。我們希望您覺得這些翻譯有用。儘管該機構已試圖獲得盡可能忠實於英文版本的翻譯，但我們認識到翻譯版本可能不如英文版本準確，清晰或完整。這些文件的正式版本為英文版本。
아래 문서들은 몇 개 외국어로 입수할 수 있습니다. FDA는 널리 있는 국제 독자들을 위한 서비스로서 본 번역본들을 제공합니다. 저희는 여러분에게 본 번역본들이 유용하기를 바랍니다. 당청(廳)은 가능한 한 영어 원본에 충실한 번역본들을 입수하려고 했습니다만, 저희는 번역본들이 영어 원본만큼 정확하거나, 분명하거나 또는 완전하지 아니할 수도 있다는 점을 인지합니다. 본 문서들의 공식 원본은 영어 원본입니다.
Ang mga dokumento sa ibaba ay maaring magagamit sa maraming (mga) banyagang wika. Inaalok ng FDA ang mga salin na ito bilang isang serbisyo para sa malawakang internasyonal na tagapanood. Inaasahan namin na ang pagsasalin na ito ay maging kapaki-pakinabang. Habang sinusubukan ng ahensya na makakuha ng mga salin na kasing tapat hangga't maaari sa bersyong Ingles, kinikilala namin na ang mga naisaling bersyon ay maaaring hindi kasing tumpak, kasing linaw, o kumpleto tulad ng Ingles na bersyon. Ang opisyal na bersyon ng mga dokumentong ito ay ang Ingles na bersyon.
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