Hepatitis B

Also called: Hep B, HBV

Hepatitis B is a virus. It is one of the most common viral infections and affects millions of people worldwide. Long-term (chronic) infections can be controlled so in most people they do not cause serious problems.

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by lots of different things. The hepatitis B virus infects liver cells and can cause damage leading to liver disease and in some cases liver cancer. Most people with hepatitis B don’t get liver cancer. People use the name hepatitis B to mean both the virus and any liver disease it causes.

There are at least 4 other types of hepatitis virus – hepatitis A, C, D and E. You can have more than one type of viral hepatitis at the same time. They all affect the liver.

Only people who already live with hepatitis B can get hepatitis D.

If you have hepatitis B it is important to have tests for hepatitis C and D and for HIV as all these viruses can be caught together.

 

On this page:

Acute and chronic hepatitis B

How Does hepatitis B affect your health?