National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Hepatitis B is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
Hepatitis B
Also called: HBV
Hepatitis B is one type of hepatitis - a liver disease- caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B spreads by contact with an infected person's blood, semen or other body fluid. An infected woman can give hepatitis B to her baby at birth.
If you get HBV, you may feel as if you have the flu, or you may have no symptoms at all. A blood test can tell if you have it. HBV usually gets better on its own after a few months. If it does not get better, it is called chronic HBV, which lasts a lifetime. Chronic HBV can lead to scarring of the liver, liver failure or liver cancer.
There is a vaccine for HBV. It requires three shots. All babies should get the vaccine, but older children and adults can get it too. If you travel to countries where Hepatitis B is common, you should get the vaccine.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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Start Here
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Hepatitis B
(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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What I Need to Know about Hepatitis B
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
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Hepatitis B
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
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Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
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For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
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Reference Shelf
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For You
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For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
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Overviews
- Hepatitis B(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatitis B(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Hepatitis B Basics(Dept. of Veterans Affairs)
- If You, Your Parents, or Your Children Were Born in Any of These Places...(Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
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Latest News
- Follow-Up Lacking for Babies After Hepatitis B Vaccination(09/27/2012, HealthDay)
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Hepatitis B Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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Liver Biopsy(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
- Liver Panel(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Viral Hepatitis(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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Treatment
- Hepatitis B Treatment Information(Hepatitis B Foundation) - PDF
- Viral Hepatitis Therapies(Food and Drug Administration)
- Return to top
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Prevention/Screening
- Hepatitis B(National Foundation for Infectious Diseases)
- Hepatitis B Vaccine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Return to top
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Disease Management
- If You Have Chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Infection(Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
- Living With Hepatitis B(Hepatitis B Foundation) - PDF
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Related Issues
- FAQs about Hepatitis B Vaccine (Hep B) and Multiple Sclerosis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Getting a Letter from the Blood Bank: What Does It Mean?(Hepatitis B Foundation) - PDF
- Hepatitis B: Health Information for International Travel(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Hepatitis B: What Asian and Pacific Islander Americans Need to Know(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- PDF
- Hepatitis D Co-Infection(Hepatitis B Foundation)
- Know HBV: What Every Asian and Pacific Islander Should Know About Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer(Stanford University, Asian Liver Center) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
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Health Check Tools
- Hepatitis Risk Assessment(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Return to top
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Tutorials
- Hepatitis B(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Hepatitis B(National Institutes of Health)
- Hepatitis B Clinical Trials: What You Need to Know(Hepatitis B Foundation) - PDF
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Hepatitis B
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Research
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Hepatitis B(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
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Hepatitis B
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
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Digestive Diseases Dictionary(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
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Digestive Diseases Dictionary
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Organizations
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Law and Policy
- Hepatitis B Prevention Mandates(Immunization Action Coalition) - School-age children immunization information
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Statistics
- FastStats: Viral Hepatitis(National Center for Health Statistics)
- Viral Hepatitis Surveillance - United States, 2010(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Children
- All Kids Need Hepatitis B Shots(Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
- Hepatitis (For Children)(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatitis B and A Vaccines Are Imperative for Families Adopting from Abroad(Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
- Hepatitis B Shots Are Recommended for All New Babies(Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
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Teenagers
- Hepatitis B (HBV)(Nemours Foundation)
- Return to top
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Men
- Protect Yourself against Hepatitis A and B: A Guide for Gay and Bisexual Men(Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
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Women
- Hepatitis B and Moms-to-be(Stanford University, Asian Liver Center) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatitis B Guidelines for Pregnant Women(Hepatitis B Foundation) - PDF
- Protect Your Baby for Life: When a Pregnant Woman Has Hepatitis B(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
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Patient Handouts
- Hepatitis B
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatitis B vaccine
- Also available in Spanish
- Hepatitis B Vaccine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Preventing hepatitis B or C
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
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Hepatitis B - Multiple Languages
