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Hepatitis B vaccine : what you need to know
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2/2/2012
[PDF-334.07 KB]
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Description:Hepatitis B is a serious infection that affects the liver. It is caused by the hepatitis B virus.
• In 2009, about 38,000 people became infected with
hepatitis B.
• Each year about 2,000 to 4,000 people die in the United
States from cirrhosis or liver cancer caused by hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B can cause:
Acute (short-term) illness. This can lead to:
• loss of appetite • diarrhea and vomiting
• tiredness • jaundice (yellow skin or eyes) • pain in muscles, joints, and stomach
Acute illness, with symptoms, is more common among adults. Children who become infected usually do not have symptoms.
Chronic (long-term) infection. Some people go on to develop chronic hepatitis B infection. Most of them do not have symptoms, but the infection is still very serious, and can lead to:
• liver damage (cirrhosis) • liver cancer • death
Chronic infection is more common among infants and children than among adults. People who are chronically infected can spread hepatitis B virus to others, even if they don’t look or feel sick. Up to 1.4 million people in the United States may have chronic hepatitis B infection.
Hepatitis B virus is easily spread through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person. People can also be infected from contact with a contaminated object, where the virus can live for up to 7 days.
• A baby whose mother is infected can be infected at birth;
• Children, adolescents, and adults can become infected
by:
- contact with blood and body fluids through breaks in
the skin such as bites, cuts, or sores;
- contact with objects that have blood or body fluids on
them such as toothbrushes, razors, or monitoring and
treatment devices for diabetes;
- having unprotected sex with an infected person;
- sharing needles when injecting drugs;
- being stuck with a used needle.
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