Overview

Hepatitis in effect is an inflammation of the liver. When the liver is inflamed (physically swollen and irritated) it has a harder time functioning properly.

Hepatitis viruses cause inflammation. There are different types of hepatitis viruses, such as hepatitis B and C. Other hepatitis viruses, such as hepatitis A and E, may cause serious inflammation of the liver, but they resolve on their own in most cases and don’t lead to cirrhosis.

Hepatitis B is a contagious liver disease that results from infection with the hepatitis B virus. It’s common worldwide. In regions where hepatitis B is most common, such as countries in Asia and Africa, at least one in five people may be infected with the virus. Hepatitis B ranges in severity and can be either acute or chronic.

Causes

The hepatitis B virus lives in blood and other body fluids and it’s contagious. It passes from person to person when blood, semen, or other body fluid infected with the virus enters the body of a person who’s not infected.

In North America, the vast majority of people with chronic hepatitis B have immigrated from an area where the virus is common, such as Asia and Africa, and they were infected at birth.

Adults who get hepatitis B, usually through sex, will clear the infection themselves in about 99% of cases. Therefore, they will have only acute hepatitis B – not chronic – and will not have long-term health problems.

Symptoms

What happens when you get hepatitis B depends largely on the age when you’re infected and how well your immune system copes with the virus. You may have hepatitis B for years and never have any symptoms. You can still spread the virus to others even if you don’t have symptoms.

Diagnosis

To confirm if you have hepatitis B, you’ll need lab tests such as the following:

  • Hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs)
  • Hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody(HBsAg)
Treatments

There are two types of treatment for chronic hepatitis B:

  • Inteferon
  • Antiviral medicines
Acute Hepatitis B Symptoms and Complications

If you’re infected as an adult, you may have a brief illness with mild or moderate symptoms such as:

  • Abdominal discomfort
  • Dark urine
  • Fatigue (feeling tired all the time)
  • Jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin)
  • Loss of appetite

If you’re infected as an adult, you have a 99% chance of clearing the infection and developing lifelong protection against the virus. The acute infection rarely leads to severe illness that requires a liver transplant (less than 1% of cases).

Chronic Hepatitis B Symptoms and Complications

Most babies and children exposed to the hepatitis B virus never have signs or symptoms. Unfortunately, they’re more likely to become carriers of hepatitis B for life because their immune system is unable to clear the virus from their body. In these cases, their chronic infection is often not detected until much later in life when:

  • They’re screened because they come from an area where the virus is common.
  • They become seriously ill with liver disease as adults.

Chronic hepatitis B goes through different phases that show how well your body’s coping with the virus. Most people have an inactive disease and stay healthy, but one in four will have an active disease. If untreated, this may lead to cirrhosis and/or liver failure. Liver cancer is also a risk for all patients with chronic hepatitis B. Therefore, screening for hepatitis B is important.

People who are healthy with an inactive disease are still at risk of the virus becoming active again. This can happen spontaneously, or when their immune system is weakened by other viral infections or medicines such as chemotherapy, especially corticosteroids.