What is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a disease caused by infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Chronic (lifelong) infection with HBV can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. About 60-80% of primary liver cancer worldwide is caused by chronic HBV infection. HBV is found in highest concentrations in blood (as high as 10 billion viruses per mL); concentrations 10 to 100 times lower are found in semen and vaginal fluid.
What are the key differences among hepatitis A, B, and C?
“Hepatitis” refers to any disease that results in inflammation of the liver, regardless of how that disease is contracted.
Hepatitis A is an acute infection that is transmitted through contaminated food and water. Infection can be prevented by receiving the hepatitis A vaccine.
Hepatitis B can be both an acute and chronic infection. It is transmitted through contaminated blood. Infection can be prevented by receiving the hepatitis B vaccine.
Hepatitis C can be both an acute and chronic infection that is transmitted through contaminated blood. No effective vaccine is available at this time.
Why should Asian and Pacific Islanders care about Hepatitis B?
Despite the fact that only 0.2-0.5% of the U.S. population has chronic hepatitis B infection, this is still 1.25 million people, over half of whom are Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Americans. Depending on their country of origin, 5-15% of API immigrants have chronic hepatitis B. In some Pacific Rim countries, as many as 10-20% of the population are chronically infected.
What should I do?
- Get tested: Ask your doctor for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and surface antibody (anti-HBs) tests for both yourself and your family. These are not included in routine physical examination blood tests and must be requested. If you are pregnant, ask your doctor for the HBsAg test to see whether you are infected with hepatitis B.
- Get vaccinated: If both your blood tests (HBsAg and anti-HBs) are negative, you have not been infected with hepatitis B. Get the 3-shot hepatitis B vaccination series to protect yourself for life from future infection. All newborns should receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
- Get involved: To learn about hepatitis B, join the Jade Ribbon Campaign. Spread the word about our campaign by telling your friends and family. Proudly wear your Jade Ribbon pin and bracelet in demonstration of your support.
How is Hepatitis B transmitted?
- Although hepatitis B can be transmitted by blood transfusions, sharing or reusing needles for injection or tattoos, and unprotected sex, many APIs become infected when they are infants or young children.
- Hepatitis B can also be transmitted during early childhood through direct contact with blood of infected individuals, occurring from contact between open wounds, sharing contaminated toothbrushes or razors, or through contaminated medical/dental tools.
- Hepatitis B is not spread by air, food, water, breastfeeding, casual contact in an office setting, kissing, hugging, coughing, sneezing, or sharing eating utensils or drinking glasses.
- Child-to-child spread most likely happens as a result of contact with skin sores, small breaks in the skin, or mucous membranes with blood. Spread within the household from sharing toothbrushes or razors may also occur because HBV can survive for at least 7 days outside the body.
- Frequently, transmission of HBV occurs during the birthing process when the virus is passed on from the infected mother (who is often unaware that she has chronic hepatitis B) to her child.
| Ethnicity of Pregnant Women | Estimated Incidence (%) |
| Caucasian | 0.13 |
| African-American | .5 |
| Foreign Born API | 8.9 |
| US Born API | 1.4 |
| Hispanic | .09 |
| Other | .5 |
- The younger a person is when first exposed to HBV, the more likely they are to become chronically infected; about 90% children infected before they turn one year old develop chronic hepatitis B.
- Hepatitis B is NOT transmitted through food/water.
- Hepatitis B is NOT transmitted through casual contact such as hugging or shaking hands.
- Hepatitis B is NOT transmitted through kissing, sneezing or coughing.
- Hepatitis B is NOT transmitted through breastfeeding.
- All infants and previously unvaccinated children and adolescents aged 0-18 years
- Sexual partners or household contacts of HBsAg-positive persons
- Persons with multiple sexual partners
- Injecting drug users
- Travelers to regions of high HBV endemicity such as Asia
- Persons with occupational exposure to blood or body fluids
- Men who have sex with men
- Clients and staff of institutions for developmentally disabled persons
- Patients with chronic renal failure
- Patients receiving clotting factor concentrates
- In the United States, an estimated 60,000 people become infected with HBV each year.
- 5,000 people die each year from HBV related liver cancer or cirrhosis with liver failure.
- Medical and work loss costs for HBV-related conditions total more than $700 million per year in the United States.
- An estimated 1.25 million Americans are chronically infected with HBV. Over half are API Americans.
- As many as 1 out of 10 API Americans are chronically infected with HBV (ranging from 5-15% based on country of origin), compared with 1 in 1000 of Caucasian Americans.
- Up to 20,000 women in the United States who give birth each year have chronic HBV infection; more than half of these women are API.
- Among API men living in California, liver cancer ranks as a leading cause of cancer death: #1 for Laotian Americans, #2 for Vietnamese and Cambodian Americans, #4 for Chinese and Korean Americans, and #5 for Filipino Americans.
- One third of the world's total population (2 billion) has been infected with hepatitis B virus. Most people develop natural immunity to HBV after acute (initial) infection.
- There are approximately 350 million people with chronic (lifelong) HBV infection. About 78% (275 million) of chronically infected individuals reside in Asia or the Pacific Islands. In contrast, globally there are 170 million people with chronic hepatitis C and 40 million people with HIV/AIDS.
- In many Asian countries, 10% (5-20%) of the population are chronically infected with HBV.
- About 1 million people die each year (the equivalent of 2,800 deaths per day, 115 deaths per hour, or 1-2 deaths per minute) from liver cancer or liver failure caused by HBV.
- An estimated 550,000 people each year die of liver cancer; 360,000 of these deaths are in East Asian countries alone (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea).
- Without appropriate monitoring or treatment, 1 in 4 of those chronically infected will die from liver cancer or liver failure.
- Every 30-45 seconds, one person dies from this vaccine-preventable disease.
| Age of Infection | Percentage of Infected Patients that become Carriers of Chronic HBV (%) |
| 0-1 | 90 |
| 1-5 | 60 |
| Adults | 10 |
Why is Hepatitis B often not diagnosed?
More than two-thirds of HBV cases exhibit no symptoms, so many people who become chronically infected don’t realize until it’s too late. If symptoms develop, they are often mistaken for those of influenza: fever, fatigue, joint or muscle pain, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. Jaundice (a yellow discoloration of eyes and skin), which is usually a sign of liver damage, may not occur.
What are some common myths and misconceptions about Hepatitis B?
What should I know about the vaccine?
The hepatitis B vaccine provides an easy and effective method for preventing HBV infection and its deadly implications of liver cancer and liver failure. The vaccination is so effective that the World Health Organization calls the hepatitis B vaccine the first "anti-cancer" vaccine. Based on current data, routine booster doses of hepatitis B vaccine are not recommended. Universal hepatitis B vaccination hopefully will one day eradicate this devastating infection.
If not already infected, the following people should receive vaccination for Hepatitis B:
In addition, the Asian Liver Center recommends that all adults of childbearing age (men and women under 45 years of age) receive vaccinations if they are not yet protected against HBV. All Americans, who were born in a country with intermediate or high levels of hepatitis B infection (see http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5516al.htm#box2) or are children of foreign-born parents, especially APIs, should be tested for HBsAg and anti-HBs to see if they are chronically infected or would benefit from hepatitis B vaccination.
Protective anti-HBs levels of >10 mIU/mL develop in 95% to 99% of immunocompetent adults who receive the hepatitis B vaccine. Antibody levels are reduced in persons over age 40 and in immunocompromised patients, including those with chronic renal failure, human immunodeficiency virus infection and chronic liver disease.
How severely does Hepatitis B affect the United States?
How severely does Hepatitis B affect the world?
 |
 |
Despite the widespread availability of the hepatitis B vaccine, immunization rates are low and hepatitis B remains a global health problem. Many children worldwide remain unvaccinated and at risk for liver cancer and liver failure and many adults may be chronic carriers.
