Hepatitis B Virus
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV)
that affects the liver
Acute infection with hepatitis B virus is associated with acute viral hepatitis,
an illness that begins with general ill-health, loss of appetite, nausea,
vomiting, body aches, mild fever, and dark urine, and then progresses to
development of jaundice.
The illness lasts for a few weeks and then gradually improves in most affected
people. A few people may have a more severe form of liver disease known
as fulminant hepatic failure and may die as a result. The infection may be
entirely asymptomatic and may go unrecognized
Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus either may be asymptomatic or
may be associated with a chronic inflammation of the liver (chronic
hepatitis), leading to cirrhosis over a period of several years. This type of
infection dramatically increases the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma
, Transmission
• Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood
or body fluids containing blood.
• It is 50 to 100 times more infectious than human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV).
• Possible forms of transmission include sexual contact, blood
transfusions and transfusion with other human blood products, re-use of
contaminated needles and syringes, and vertical transmission from
mother to child (MTCT) during childbirth.
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV)
that affects the liver
Acute infection with hepatitis B virus is associated with acute viral hepatitis,
an illness that begins with general ill-health, loss of appetite, nausea,
vomiting, body aches, mild fever, and dark urine, and then progresses to
development of jaundice.
The illness lasts for a few weeks and then gradually improves in most affected
people. A few people may have a more severe form of liver disease known
as fulminant hepatic failure and may die as a result. The infection may be
entirely asymptomatic and may go unrecognized
Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus either may be asymptomatic or
may be associated with a chronic inflammation of the liver (chronic
hepatitis), leading to cirrhosis over a period of several years. This type of
infection dramatically increases the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma
, Transmission
• Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood
or body fluids containing blood.
• It is 50 to 100 times more infectious than human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV).
• Possible forms of transmission include sexual contact, blood
transfusions and transfusion with other human blood products, re-use of
contaminated needles and syringes, and vertical transmission from
mother to child (MTCT) during childbirth.
