What is hepatitis B? What causes hepatitis B? What are the symptoms? How is hepatitis B diagnosed?
What is hepatitis B? Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver . Most adults who get it have it for a short time and then get better. This is called acute hepatitis B. Sometimes the virus causes a long-term infection, called chronic hepatitis B. Over time, it can damage your liver . Babies and young children infected with the virus are more likely to get chronic hepatitis B. You can have hepatitis B and not know it. You may not have symptoms. If you do, they can make you feel like you have the flu . But as long as you have the virus, you can spread it to others. What causes hepatitis B? It's caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is spread through contact with the blood and body fluids of an infected person. You may get hepatitis B if you: Have sex with an infected person without using a condom . Share needles (used for injecting drugs) with an infected person. Get a tattoo...