Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is caused by a virus (HBV) which results in an inflammation of the liver. An estimated 257 million people are living with a hepatitis B virus infection (defined as hepatitis B surface antigen positive) 1. In 2015, hepatitis B resulted in 887,000 deaths, mostly from complications (including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma). Acute hepatitis B is usually associated with a loss of appetite, weakness, nausea, abdominal pain, jaundice, skin rash, and joint pain. The vaccine can help prevent infection and the development of chronic disease and liver cancer due to hepatitis B 2. Today, the most common administration route is with other childhood vaccines in a pentavalent or hexavalent combination.

Sportive women

Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection (3)

Did You Know?

HBV is transmitted primarily through blood, and to a lesser extent by other body fluids from an infected person

The incubation period of the hepatitis B virus is 75 days on average, but can vary from 30 to 180 days

We have been providing vaccines to protect against hepatitis B for more than thirty years in more than 120 countries.

References

WHO. Hepatitis B fact sheet. WHO media centre. Reviewed July 2017. Accessed February 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/fr/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-b
CDC. Hepatitis B; Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. The Pink Book 13th ed. CDC; 2015. p. 158.
Schweitzer A, Horn J, Mikolajczyk R, Krause G, Ott J. Estimations of worldwide prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection: a systematic review of data published between 1965 and 2013. The Lancet. 2015 Jul 28; 386(10003):1546–1555.
The Pink Book 13th ed. CDC. Hepatitis B. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. April 2015; p. 149-173. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/hepb.html

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