Hepatitis B- What Is This Diseases All About?

Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV is one of five types of viral hepatitis. The others are hepatitis A, C, D, and E. Each is a different type of virus, and types B and C are most likely to become chronic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that around 3,000 people in the United States die each year from complications caused by hepatitis B. It’s suspected that 1.4 million people in America have chronic hepatitis B.

HBV infection can be acute or chronic.

Acute hepatitis B causes symptoms to appear quickly in adults. Infants infected at birth rarely develop only acute hepatitis B. Nearly all hepatitis B infections in infants go on to become chronic.

Chronic hepatitis B develops slowly. Symptoms may not be noticeable unless complications develop.