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hepatitis B
a type caused by exposure to hepatitis B virus; the most common route of transmission is through blood and blood products, such as in transfusions or contaminated needles.
The virus has also been found in body fluids such as tears, saliva, and semen, which qualifies this as a sexually transmitted disease. It can also be transmitted by “vertical transmission,” between a pregnant mother and a fetus in the womb or in breast milk to a nursing infant. This virus may remain in body
fluids for many years, with carriers being infectious to others and at long-term risk themselves for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Symptoms can vary from undetectable to jaundice, joint pain, and a rash, sometimes with internal bleeding. The onset of
hepatitis B is more gradual than that of hepatitis A. Called also serum hepatitis.
Copyright 2007. An Elsevier publication. All rights reserved.
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