Hepatitis B is a serious health problem, and about one third of the world’s population have been exposed to or are currently infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV).
HBV is one of the most common DNA viruses that can cause aggressive hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The virus specifically infects liver cells and can cause acute liver damage.
Approximately 200,000 new HBV infections occur annually in the United States.
Hepatitis B is a blood borne disease. Most people infected with HBV became infected by exposure to infectious blood or bodily fluids. It has been detected in blood, sweat, tears, saliva, semen, vaginal secretions, menstrual blood, and breast milk.
The common ways of getting hepatitis B are by sharing needles and by having unprotected sex.
Transmission can also occur by contact of mucous membrane with secretions or saliva containing HBV.
The HBV attaches itself it the membrane that surrounds a liver cell and injects its DNA core into the cell. The virus takes over the cell and causes it to reproduce the virus’s DNA instead of the cell’s DNA. When the liver cell is filled with copies of the virus, it bursts.
What may cause hepatitis B infection?
