Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It is a major global health problem. It can cause chronic infection and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
A vaccine against hepatitis B has been available since 1982. The vaccine is 95% effective in preventing infection and the development of chronic disease and liver cancer due to hepatitis B.
Key facts
Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease.
The virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.
An estimated 257 million people are living with hepatitis B virus infection (defined as hepatitis B surface antigen positive).
In 2015, hepatitis B resulted in 887 000 deaths, mostly from complications (including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma).
Hepatitis B is an important occupational hazard for health workers.
However, it can be prevented by currently available safe and effective vaccine.
Geographical distribution
Hepatitis B prevalence is highest in the WHO Western Pacific Region and the WHO African Region, where 6.2% and 6.1% respectively of the adult population is infected. In the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, the WHO South-East Asia Region and the WHO European Region, an estimated 3.3%, 2.0% and 1.6%% of the general population is infected, respectively. 0.7% of the population of the WHO Region of the Americas is infected.
Who is at risk for chronic disease?
The likelihood that infection becomes chronic depends upon the age at which a person becomes infected. Children less than 6 years of age who become infected with the hepatitis B virus are the most likely to develop chronic infections.
In infants and children:
80–90% of infants infected during the first year of life develop chronic infections; and
30–50% of children infected before the age of 6 years develop chronic infections.
In adults:
less than 5% of otherwise healthy persons who are infected as adults will develop chronic infection; and
20–30% of adults who are chronically infected will develop cirrhosis and/or liver cancer.
Transmission
The hepatitis B virus can survive outside the body for at least 7 days. During this time, the virus can still cause infection if it enters the body of a person who is not protected by the vaccine. The incubation period of the hepatitis B virus is 75 days on average, but can vary from 30 to 180 days. The virus may be detected within 30 to 60 days after infection and can persist and develop into chronic hepatitis B.
In highly endemic areas, hepatitis B is most commonly spread from mother to child at birth (perinatal transmission), or through horizontal transmission (exposure to infected blood), especially from an infected child to an uninfected child during the first 5 years of life. The development of chronic infection is very common in infants infected from their mothers or before the age of 5 years.
Hepatitis B is also spread by percutaneous or mucosal exposure to infected blood and various body fluids, as well as through saliva, menstrual, vaginal, and seminal fluids. Sexual transmission of hepatitis B may occur, particularly in unvaccinated men who have sex with men and heterosexual persons with multiple sex partners or contact with sex workers. Infection in adulthood leads to chronic hepatitis in less than 5% of cases. Transmission of the virus may also occur through the reuse of needles and syringes either in health-care settings or among persons who inject drugs. In addition, infection can occur during medical, surgical and dental procedures, through tattooing, or through the use of razors and similar objects that are contaminated with infected blood.
Can It Be Prevented?
Yes. Hepatitis B vaccine is a safe, effective vaccine and is the only vaccine currently available that can prevent a form of cancer (HBV-related liver cancer). The most common side effect of vaccination is soreness at the site of injection.
Hepatitis B - Vaccination of Adults
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is transmitted via blood or sexual contact. People with chronic HBV infection are at increased risk for cirrhosis and liver cancer and require medical care. ACIP ( 2015) recommends vaccination of adults at risk for HBV infection, including universal vaccination of adults in settings in which a high proportion have risk factors for HBV infection and vaccination of adults requesting protection from HBV without acknowledgment of a specific risk factor.
Where do we come in as steemians
For people between the age of 20 to 30 to get free vaccine