Hepatitis B

📖What is Hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver, caused by the hepatitis B virus, which can lead to both acute short-term illness and, in some individuals, a chronic lifelong infection that gradually damages the liver over years or decades. The virus spreads through contact with infected blood or body fluids, including through childbirth from mother to child, unprotected sexual contact, and sharing of needles or unsterilised medical or tattooing equipment. Many people infected as adults clear the virus naturally within a few months, while infection acquired at birth or in early childhood is far more likely to become chronic. Chronic hepatitis B infection significantly increases the long-term risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, making ongoing monitoring important even in the absence of symptoms. Effective vaccination has substantially reduced new infections where it has been widely implemented, and antiviral treatment can control chronic infection in many patients.

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