Do I Have Hepatitis B

Burden Of Chronic Hepatitis B In Australia

Chronic infection and its sequelae, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, contribute to most of the hepatitis B disease burden in Australia. The burden from chronic disease has been increasing with the increasing number of immigrants from regions of high hepatitis B prevalence.62

First-generation immigrants from countries of high hepatitis B endemicity usually retain the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection of the country they are from. Migrants born in Asian, Pacific islands, North African, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries have a significantly higher prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection than the Australian-born population.62

Other population groups with higher prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection include:63,64

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• people with HIV
• people who injected drugs between 1980 and 1990
• household contacts of someone diagnosed with hepatitis between 1980 and 1990

Notification of chronic hepatitis B virus infection depends on hepatitis B testing and reporting. Many people with chronic hepatitis B virus infection remain undiagnosed. Mathematical modelling suggests that, in Australia in 2015:64

• about 230,000 people were living with hepatitis B virus infection
• about 419 deaths were due to hepatitis B virus infection

Hepatitis B During Pregnancy

If a woman with HBV becomes pregnant, they may transmit the virus to their baby. Women should inform the doctor who delivers their baby that they have HBV.

The infant should receive an HBV vaccine and HBIG with 1224 hours of birth. This significantly reduces the risk that they will develop HBV.

The HBV vaccine is safe to receive while pregnant.

People with a high risk of HBV include:

• the infants of mothers with HBV
• the sexual partners of people with HBV
• people who engage in sexual intercourse without contraception and those who have multiple sexual partners
• men who have sex with men
• people who inject illicit drugs
• those who share a household with a person who has a chronic HBV infection
• healthcare and public safety workers who are at risk of occupational exposure to blood or contaminated bodily fluids
• people receiving hemodialysis, which is a type of kidney treatment
• people taking medications that suppress the immune system, such as chemotherapy for cancer
• those who come from a region with a high incidence of HBV
• all women during pregnancy

People can prevent HBV infection by:

• wearing appropriate protective equipment when working in healthcare settings or dealing with medical emergencies
• not sharing needles
• following safe sexual practices
• cleaning any blood spills or dried blood with gloved hands using a 1:10 dilution of one part household bleach to 10 parts water

A vaccine against HBV has been available since 1982.

People who should receive this vaccine include:

How To Prevent Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by a virus . It can be serious and theres no cure, but the good news is its easy to prevent. You can protect yourself by getting the hepatitis B vaccine and having safer sex. If you have oral, anal, and vaginal sex, use condoms and dental dams to help stop the spread of hepatitis B and other STDs.

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Chronic Hepatitis B Symptoms

Most patients with chronic hepatitis B are asymptomatic unless their disease progresses. Others might have nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue.

Some patients experience worsening of the infection and develop signs and symptoms similar to acute hepatitis.

If patients with chronic hepatitis B progress to cirrhosis they will develop signs and symptoms of liver failure, including:

• Jaundice
• Ascites
• Peripheral edema
• Encephalopathy
• Hepatocellular carcinoma

What Are The Risk Factors For Getting Hepatitis B

Due to the way that hepatitis B spreads, people most at risk for getting infected include:

• Children whose mothers have been infected with hepatitis B.
• Children who have been adopted from countries with high rates of hepatitis B infection.
• People who have unprotected sex and/or have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.
• People who live with or work in an institutional setting, such as prisons or group homes.
• Healthcare providers and first responders.
• People who share needles or syringes.
• People who live in close quarters with a person with chronic hepatitis B infection.
• People who are on dialysis.

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For Adults And Children

This vaccine schedule involves three doses within 2 months, followed by a booster dose at 1 year.

The initial accelerated doses provide immediate protection from HBV, and the booster dose helps provide long-term protection.

Below is the accelerated vaccination schedule approved for both adults and children:

Hiv And Hbv Coinfection

About 2% of people with HIV in the United States are coinfected with HBV both infections have similar routes of transmission. People with HIV are at greater risk for complications and death from HBV infection. All people with HIV are recommended to be tested for HBV, and if susceptible, are further recommended to receive the hepatitis B vaccination or, if chronically infected, evaluated for treatment to prevent liver disease and liver cancer. For more information about HIV and HBV coinfection, visit HIV.govâs pages about hepatitis B and HIV coinfection.

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Transmission Symptoms And Treatment

How is HBV transmitted?

HBV is transmitted through activities that involve percutaneous or mucosal contact with infectious blood or body fluids , including

• sex with an infected partner
• injection-drug use that involves sharing needles, syringes, or drug-preparation equipment
• birth to an infected mother
• contact with blood from or open sores on an infected person
• exposures to needle sticks or sharp instruments and
• sharing certain items with an infected person that can break the skin or mucous membranes , potentially resulting in exposure to blood.

How long does HBV survive outside the body?

HBV can survive outside the body and remains infectious for at least 7 days .

What should be used to clean environmental surfaces potentially contaminated with HBV?

Any blood spills should be disinfected using a 1:10 dilution of one part household bleach to 10 parts of water. Gloves should be worn when cleaning up any blood spills.

Who is at risk for HBV infection?

The following populations are at increased risk for becoming infected with HBV:

• Infants born to infected mothers
• Sex partners of infected people
• Men who have sex with men
• People who inject drugs
• Household contacts or sexual partners of known people with chronic HBV infection
• Health-care and public-safety workers at risk for occupational exposure to blood or blood-contaminated body fluids
• Hemodialysis patients

Who should be screened for HBV?

CDC recommends that the following people be screened for HBV :

• fever,

Recommended Adult Dosing Volume Of Monovalent Hepatitis B Vaccine

• Age 19 years and younger: Use 0.5 mL per dose .
• Age 20 years and older: 1.0 mL per dose .

For a one-page sheet reviewing the hepatitis B dosing schedule for children and adults, consult IACs Hepatitis A and B Vaccines: Be Sure Your Patients Get the Correct Dose. For complete dosing information, consult the ACIP hepatitis B vaccine recommendations for adults.

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How Can I Pay For My Medication

Private health insurance or drug plansIf you have private health insurance or a drug plan at work, you may be able to have the medication paid through your plan. Please consult your private health insurance or drug plan provider to see if your drug is covered.

Publicly funded drug plansEach province and territory has their own rules. Some provincial drug plans provide coverage for individuals 65 and older, or those on social assistance. Some provinces provide special support to low-income individuals. Please call your Provincial Ministry or Department of Health to get more information about the terms of the publicly funded drug plan in your province.

Quebec public drug programIn Quebec, everyone must be covered by prescription drug insurance either through private or publicly funded plans.

Each provincial and territorial government offers a drug benefit plan for eligible groups. Some are income-based universal programs. Most have specific programs for population groups that may require more enhanced coverage for high drug costs. These groups include seniors, recipients of social assistance, and individuals with diseases or conditions that are associated with high drug costs. For more details, please contact your provincial or territorial health care ministry, or click on the appropriate link below.

Yukon

Available Patient Assistance Program for Hepatitis B treatment VEMLIDY

Do You Have Hepatitis B

Have you been told you may be infected with hepatitis B? Did you get a letter following a blood donation, or receive lab results indicating infection? Its important you relax, educate yourself, and dont let the news scare you. The next step is to determine if you are infected, and if so, do you have an acute or chronic infection.

Youll want to talk with your doctor, and have a hepatitis B blood panel run. It is essential that you do not ignore the possibility of infection. That being said, its equally important that you not panic.

When you get your lab results, ask your doctor to explain them to you. Its possible that you are not infected, but if you are, then you will need follow-up testing. Be sure to ask for copies of your labs for your own records. The test results are initially confusing, so you will want to refer back to the hard-copy results.

Keep in mind that being vaccinated against hepatitis B will not protect you against the virus if you were infected with HBV prior to vaccination. This can be confusing since most people are not screened prior to vaccination, and is especially pertinent in high risk groups where the likelihood of mother to child transmission is greater.

The Hepatitis B Foundation has a step-by-step, comprehensive, yet-easy-to-understand tutorial that leads you through the process of determining your hepatitis B status, specific test results, and practical advice for coping with your HBV diagnosis.

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Hepatitis B In The United States

In the United States, about 862,000 people have chronic hepatitis B.6 Asian Americans and African Americans have higher rates of chronic hepatitis B than other U.S. racial and ethnic groups.10 Researchers estimate that about half of the people living with chronic hepatitis B in the United States are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.11 Chronic hepatitis B is also more common among people born in other countries than among those born in the United States.7

The hepatitis B vaccine has been available since the 1980s and, in 1991, doctors began recommending that children in the United States receive the hepatitis B vaccine. The annual rate of acute hepatitis B infections went down 88.5 percent between 1982 and 2015.12 In 2017, the annual number of hepatitis B infections rose in some states.13 Experts think the rise was related to increases in injection drug use. Injection drug use increases the risk of hepatitis B infection.

Hepatitis B Vs Hepatitis C

Hepatitis has many different types. HBV and the hepatitis C virus have both acute and chronic forms.

The main difference between HBV and HCV is how they spread from person to person. Although HCV is transmissible via sexual activity, this is rare. HCV usually spreads when blood that carries the virus comes into contact with blood that does not.

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People With Chronic Hepatitis B

The vaccine does not affect people with chronic hepatitis B virus infection there are no therapeutic benefits or associated adverse events. The vaccine is also safe in people who are already immune to hepatitis B through past natural infection, but it offers no additional benefit.

Hepatitis B is an infection caused by hepatitis B virus. It affects the liver.

How Many People Have Hepatitis B

In the United States, an estimated 862,000 people were chronically infected with HBV in 2016. New cases of HBV infection in the United States had been decreasing until 2012. Since that time, reported cases of acute hepatitis B have been fluctuating around 3,000 cases per year. In 2018, 3,322 cases of acute hepatitis B were reported however, because of low case detection and reporting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there were 21,600 acute hepatitis B infections. New HBV infections are likely linked to the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States.

Globally, HBV is the most common blood-borne infection with an estimated 257 million people infected according to the World Health Organization .

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Who Is Likely To Be A Hepatitis B Carrier

People living with chronic hepatitis B can be carriers. Often, carriers do not have symptoms. This means that they may unknowingly transmit the virus to others.

However, within the U.S., there is a low rate of hepatitis B infections, which means that there is a small number of carriers. To prevent transmission, people can receive the hepatitis B vaccine.

A person living with chronic hepatitis B who is an asymptomatic carrier can still spread the virus to others.

The ways to transmit the infection include:

• having genital contact with others
• sharing needles

When To Contact A Doctor

A person should contact a doctor if they think that they may have had exposure to hepatitis B. The doctor can run a blood test to look for the presence of the infection and determine the next steps.

People who are concerned about contracting the virus may want to ask a doctor about getting the hepatitis B vaccine. This will protect them from future infections.

People who are living with a known case of chronic hepatitis B should visit a doctor regularly for screenings and blood tests to monitor the virus.

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How Long Does It Last

According to the World Health Organization , the complete vaccine series induces protective antibody levels in of the infants, children, and adolescents who receive it.

Immune memory induced by the HBV vaccine can last for in healthy people. That said, studies into the duration of the protection that the vaccine offers are ongoing.

What Is The Outlook For People With Hepatitis B

The outlook for people with HBV is better now than ever before. You are certainly able to live a full life and help yourself stay healthy. You should make sure to have regular check-ups with a healthcare provider who is qualified to treat hepatitis B, possibly a liver doctor.

Make sure you are vaccinated against hepatitis A. Check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before taking other medications or over-the-counter products, including supplements and natural products. These could interfere with your medication or damage your liver. For instance, taking acetaminophen in large doses may harm your liver.

Follow the usual guidelines for living a healthy life:

• Eat nutritious foods, choosing from a variety of vegetables, fruits and healthy proteins. It is said that cruciferous vegetables are especially good at protecting the liver.
• Exercise regularly.
• Dont smoke and dont drink. Both tobacco and alcohol are bad for your liver.
• Do things that help you cope with stress, like journaling, talking with others, meditating and doing yoga.
• Avoid inhaling toxic fumes.

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How Is Hepatitis B Transmitted

Hepatitis B is spread in several distinct ways: sexual contact sharing needles, syringes, or other drug-injection equipment or from mother-to-child at birth.

In the United States, in 2018, injection drug use was the most common risk factor reported among people with an acute HBV infection, followed by having multiple sex partners. Less commonly reported risk factors included accidental needle sticks, surgery, transfusions, and household contact with a person with HBV infection. In the United States, healthcare-related transmission of HBV is rare.

Mother-to-child transmission of HBV is especially concerning, because it is preventable. An estimated 25,000 infants are born to mothers diagnosed with HBV each year in the United States, and approximately 1,000 mothers transmit HBV to their infants. Without appropriate medical care and vaccinations, 90% of HBV-infected newborns will develop chronic infection, remaining infected throughout their lives. Up to 25% of people infected at birth will die prematurely of HBV-related causes. For this reason, the standard of care for pregnant women includes an HBV test during each pregnancy so that the appropriate steps can be taken to prevent HBV-positive mothers from transmitting the disease to her infant.

How Common Is It

In 2006, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported the incidence of HBV as 2.0 cases for every 100,000 or about 650 cases reported annually in Canada. In the year 2013, the incident rate was 0.5 per 100,000 . Incidence of the disease varies from region to region but has been declining due to increasing use of the vaccine and universal immunization programs.

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How Will I Know If I Have It

Hepatitis A

Your provider can tell you if you have hepatitis A by taking a sample of your blood. A blood test for a specific antibody called an IgM antibody can tell if you are infected with hepatitis A. Your provider will also talk to you about your symptoms, which may include the following:

• Yellowing of the skin or eyes
• Feeling very tired

Though some people do not have any symptoms, hepatitis A usually makes people feel sick:

• Adults with hepatitis A are often too ill to work for up to a month.
• People with hepatitis A sometimes have to be hospitalized .
• In rare cases, people die as a result of hepatitis A .