Hepatitis B

1. Why get vaccinated?

Hepatitis B is a serious disease.
The hepatitis B virus can cause short-term (acute) illness that leads to:

• loss of appetite
• diarrhea and vomiting
• tiredness
• jaundice (yellow skin or eyes)
• pain in muscles, joints, and stomach

It can also cause long-term (chronic) illness that leads to:

• liver damage (cirrhosis)
• liver cancer
• death

About 1.25 million people in the U.S. have chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Each year it is estimated that:

• 200,000 people, mostly young adults, get infected with hepatitis B virus
• More than 11,000 people have to stay in the hospital because of hepatitis B
• 4,000 to 5,000 people die from chronic hepatitis B