Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is an infection of your liver. It can cause scarring of the organ, liver failure, and cancer. It can be fatal if it isn’t treated.It’s spread when people come in contact with the blood, open sores, or body fluids of someone who has the hepatitis B virus. The disease don’t last a long time. Your body fights it off within a few months, and you’re immune for the rest of your life.Hepatitis B is a contagious liver infsection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV).  The natural course of hepatitis B disease is different from one person to another.

• The first phase of disease, during the first 6 months after a person becomes infected, is called acute hepatitis B infection. During this phase, many people show no symptoms at all. Among those who do have symptoms, the illness is usually mild and most people don't recognize that they have liver disease.
• In 90% of persons who become infected as adults with hepatitis B, the immune system successfully fights off the infection during the acute phase -- the virus is cleared from the body within 6 months, the liver heals completely, and the person becomes immune to hepatitis B infection for the rest of their life. In the other 10%, the immune system cannot clear the virus and hepatitis B infection persists past 6 months, usually for the rest of the person's life. This persistent state is known as chronic hepatitis B infection.
• When babies become infected at birth or during infancy, the percentages are reversed only 10% clear the infection. The remaining 90% develop chronic hepatitis B infection.
• In chronic hepatitis B infection, the liver becomes inflamed and scarred over a period of years. However, the speed at which inflammation and scarring take place varies between people. Some develop severe liver scarring (cirrhosis) within 20 years. In others, liver disease progresses slowly and does not become a major problem during their lifetime.
• Another concern is the potential for liver cancer. Hepatitis B infection is the single most important cause of hepatocellular (liver) cancer