Hepatitis

• Effective vaccine is available.
• Outbreaks still occur in the United States.
• Common in many countries, especially those without modern sanitation.
• HAV infection usually causes a mild, short-term illness.

• Vaccination is the best way to prevent infection.
• About 1 in 2 people with hepatitis B do not know they are infected.
• In 2022, the highest rate of chronic hepatitis B was in non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander people.
• Hepatitis B is a leading cause of liver cancer.

• Many people with hepatitis C don’t look or feel sick so might not know they have the virus.
• Left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to serious liver problems, like scarring and cancer.

Hepatitis B spreads primarily when blood, semen, or certain other body fluids from an infected person—even in microscopic amounts—enters the body of someone who is not infected.

Other ways hepatitis B spreads:
• Born to an infected mother.
• People or their parents who were born in certain countries where hepatitis B is common are at higher risk.
• Sex with an infected person.
• Sharing equipment that has been contaminated with blood from an infected person, like needles, syringes, and medical equipment, like glucose monitors.
• Sharing personal items such as toothbrushes or razors.
• Poor infection control has resulted in outbreaks in healthcare facilities.
• People with certain medical conditions, such as: those who have hepatitis C and/or sexually transmitted infections (e.i. HIV), those on dialysis, or those with liver damage, are at higher risk of infection.

Hepatitis C spreads when blood from an infected person—even in microscopic amounts—enters the body of someone who is not infected.

Ways this can happen:
• Sharing equipment that has been contaminated with blood from an infected person, like needles and syringes.
• Receiving a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992, when the national blood supply was not tested for hepatitis C.
• Poor infection control has resulted in outbreaks in healthcare facilities.

• All children at age 1.
• All children ages 2–18 who have not previously received hepatitis A vaccine.
•  Travelers to regions where hepatitis A is common.
• Family and caregivers of recent adoptees from countries where hepatitis A is common.
• Men who have sex with men.
• Users of certain recreational drugs, whether injected or not.
• People with certain medical conditions including chronic liver disease, clotting-factor disorders.
• People whose jobs increase the risk of exposure.

CDC recommends the following groups get vaccinated against hepatitis B:
• All infants.
• All children and adolescents younger than 19 who have not been vaccinated.
• Adults ages 19–59.
• Adults ages 60 and older at higher risk for hepatitis B.

Those at higher rise include:
• Unvaccinated adults with diabetes.
• Uninfected people who live with or are sexual partners of someone with hepatitis B.
• People with multiple sex partners.
• People seeking evaluation or treatment for an STI.
• Men who have sex with men.
• People who inject drugs.
• People with certain medical conditions, including HIV, chronic liver disease.
• Travelers to regions where hepatitis B is common.

CDC recommends all adults get screened for hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime through a blood test. There are also some people who should be tested more often, including:
• All pregnant women during each pregnancy.
•  Infants born to pregnant women with HBV infection.
• People with ongoing risk for exposures, such as:
• Born in regions with moderate or high rates of hepatitis B.
• Born in the U.S. and not vaccinated as infants whose parents were born in regions with high rates of hepatitis B.
• Household, needle-sharing, or sexual contacts of anyone with hepatitis B.
• Men who have sex with men.
• People who inject drugs.
• Patients with abnormal liver tests.
• Hemodialysis (kidney dialysis) patients.
• People who need immunosuppressive or cytotoxic therapy.
• People with HIV.

CDC recommends hepatitis C testing for all adults, all pregnant women, and for anyone who may have been recently exposed. If you have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, see your doctor to start treatment without delay.

Other risks include:
• Recipients of clotting factor concentrates before 1987.
• Recipients of blood transfusions or donated organs before July 1992.
• People who have injected drugs.
• Long-term hemodialysis patients.
• People with known exposures to hepatitis C (for example, healthcare workers after needle sticks, recipients of blood or organs from a donor who later tested positive for hepatitis C).
• People with HIV.
• People with signs or symptoms of liver disease.

It’s important to know people with have cleared or been cured of the virus can be re-infected.