Hepatitis B

What is Hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a virus that affects the liver. The liver becomes inflamed and cannot function properly.

How is Hepatitis B passed?

Hepatitis B is contained in blood, semen and vaginal fluids. Patients infected with Hepatitis B can be infected through sexual contact (including oral sex) or coming into contact with infected blood. The virus can remain viable outside the body for approximately one week so this makes Hepatitis B easier to pass on than something like HIV, which has a very short life outside the body.

Can I get tested for Hepatitis B?

It is very easy to test for Hepatitis B using a small blood sample. At The STI Clinic we can use a home collected sample from a finger prick test. We then look for the surface antigen. Hepatitis B can be detected from around 2 months following infection.

Are there symptoms of Hepatitis B?

Many people will experience symptoms in the acute phase of the virus but some people experience no noticeable symptoms whatsoever or only mild flu-like symptoms. Where patients have obvious symptoms, these include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Jaundice
• Dark urine
• Light coloured stools

Are there longer term health consequences?

Most people will make a full recovery after an acute Hepatitis B infection. Around 90% of people will have no lasting problems and the body clears the virus and they are no longer infectious. This process will normally take 3 - 6 months. Once the body clears the infection, the person is immune to future Hepatitis B infections.

Around 10% of people infected with Hepatitis B will have the virus long term and this is known as chronic hepatitis B. Some patients in this category will remain well but will still be infectious and they are known as carriers.

It is impossible to predict the progression of Hepatitis B at the point of diagnosis and the patient should be kept under regular medical attention to monitor the recovery from the infection or progression of the virus.

Treatments

There are treatments that can impact the virus progression known as antivirals. If we diagnose a person with Hepatitis B then we always recommend a follow-up in a face to face environment and it can then be decided what treatment (if any) is required.

Hepatitis C

The STI Clinic can also test for Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a different virus that also affects the liver. The two infections should not be confused. To find out more about Hepatitis C, please view our Hepatitis C page.