Hepatitis B symptoms causes diagnosis & treatment

#hepatitisb #hepatitis #symptoms #causes #diagnosis #treatment 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. Hepatitis B is highly contagious. It spreads through contact with infected blood and certain other bodily fluids. Although the virus can be found in saliva, it’s not spread through sharing utensils or kissing. It also doesn’t spread through sneezing, coughing, or breastfeeding. Symptoms of hepatitis B may not appear for 3 months after exposure and can last for 2–12 weeks. However, you are still contagious, even without symptoms. The virus can live outside the body for up to seven days. Possible methods of transmission include: direct contact with infected blood transfer from mother to baby during birth being pricked with a contaminated needle intimate contact with a person with HBV oral, vaginal, and anal using a razor or any other personal item with remnants of infected fluid Certain groups are at particularly high risk of HBV infection. These include: healthcare workers men who have with other men people who use IV drugs people with multiple partners people with chronic liver disease people with kidney disease people over the age of 60 with diabetes those traveling to countries with a high incidence of HBV infection