NATIONAL DIGESTIVE DISEASES INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE (NDDIC) 

Hepatitis B 

What Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
 

Need to Know 

Did you know that Asian and 

Pacific Islander Americans and 

other foreign-born Americans 

are at higher risk for chronic 

hepatitis B, which can lead to 

liver failure and liver cancer? 

What is hepatitis B? 

Hepatitis B is a liver disease spread 

through contact with blood, semen, or 

other body fluids from a person infected 

with the hepatitis B virus. The disease is 

most commonly spread from an infected 

mother to her infant at birth. Hepatitis B is 

also spread through sex, wound-to-wound 

contact, and contact with items that may 

have blood on them, such as shaving razors, 

toothbrushes, syringes, and tattoo and body 

piercing needles. 

Hepatitis B is not spread through casual 

contact such as shaking hands or hugging; 

nor is it spread by sharing food or beverages, 

by sneezing and coughing, or through 

breastfeeding. 

What is chronic hepatitis B? 

Hepatitis B may start as a brief, fl ulike illness. 

Most healthy adults and children older than 

5 completely recover after the body’s immune 

system gets rid of the virus. 

Hepatitis B becomes chronic when the 

body’s immune system can’t get rid of the 

virus. Over time, having the virus can lead 

to inflammation of the liver; scar tissue in 

the liver, called cirrhosis; or liver cancer. 

Inflammation is the painful red swelling that 

results when tissues of the body become 

infected. Young children and people with 

weakened immune systems are especially at 

risk. People who were infected as infants 

have a 90 percent chance of developing 

chronic hepatitis B.1 

Why are Asian and Pacifi c Islander 

Americans at higher risk? 

Since 1986, a hepatitis B vaccine has been 

available and should be given to newborns 

and children in the United States. The 

vaccine, however, is unavailable—or has 

only recently become available—in many 

parts of the world. You are at higher risk for 

hepatitis B if you or your mother was born 

1 Weinbaum CM, Williams I, Mast EE et al. 

Recommendations for identification and public health 

management of persons with chronic hepatitis B 

virus infection. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 

Recommendations and Reports. 2008 September 

19;57(RR–8):1–20. 
in a region of the world where hepatitis B 

is common, meaning 2 percent or more of 

the population is chronically infected with 

the hepatitis B virus.1 In most Asian and 

Pacific Island nations, 8 to 16 percent of the 

population is chronically infected.2 

What are the symptoms of chronic 

hepatitis B? 

Hepatitis B is called a “silent killer” because 

many people have no symptoms, so the 

disease often progresses unnoticed for years. 

Unfortunately, many people first learn they 

have chronic hepatitis B when they develop 

symptoms of severe liver damage, which 

include 

2 Custer B, Sullivan SD, Hazlet TK, Iloeje U, Veenstra 

DL, Kowdley KV. Global epidemiology of hepatitis 

B virus. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 2004 

November;38(10 Suppl 3):S158–S168. 

• 	 yellowish eyes and skin, called jaundice 

• 	 a swollen stomach or ankles 

• tiredness 

• nausea 

• weakness 

• 	 loss of appetite 

• weight loss 

• 	 spiderlike blood vessels, called spider 

angiomas, that develop on the skin 

Who is at risk for hepatitis B? 

Anyone can get hepatitis B, but some people 

are at higher risk, including 

• 	 people who were born to a mother with 

hepatitis B 

• 	 people who have close household contact 

with someone infected with the hepatitis B 

virus 

• 	 people who have lived in parts of the world 

where hepatitis B is common, including 

most Asian and Pacific Island nations 

• 	 people who are exposed to blood or body 

fluids at work 

• 	 people on hemodialysis 

• 	 people whose sex partner(s) has hepatitis B 

• 	 people who have had more than one sex 

partner in the last 6 months or have a 

history of sexually transmitted disease 

• 	 injection drug users 

• 	 men who have sex with men 
How can I protect myself and 

others from hepatitis B? 

Get tested if you are from an Asian or 

Pacific Island nation or other region where 

the hepatitis B virus is common. The sooner 

you get tested, the sooner you can take steps 

to protect yourself and others. 

A health care provider can test your blood 

to see if you are currently infected or were 

infected in the past. If you test positive, your 

doctor may measure virus and liver enzyme 

levels in your blood to determine if the virus 

is active or causing liver injury. The doctor 

may use ultrasound—a procedure that uses 

sound waves to create images of the body’s 

internal tissues and organs—to screen for 

liver cancer, also called hepatocellular 

carcinoma. You may not need treatment 

right away, but you will need periodic tests to 

monitor the health of your liver. Encourage 

your family members and other close 

personal contacts to get tested. 

Hepatitis B is preventable. Get vaccinated if 

you have not been infected. The hepatitis B 

vaccine is given in three shots over 6 months. 

You must get all three shots to be fully 

protected. The vaccine is safe for people 

of all ages, including pregnant women and 

infants. 

If you think you have been recently exposed 

to the hepatitis B virus, see your doctor 

right away. The first dose of hepatitis B 

vaccine combined with hepatitis B immune 

globulin—an injection of antibodies that 

temporarily protects against hepatitis B 

infection—may prevent infection. 

No cure exists for hepatitis B, but several 

medicines are approved for treating 

chronic hepatitis B. The goal of treatment 

is to reduce the risk of liver damage, liver 

cirrhosis, and liver cancer by decreasing liver 

inflammation and the amount of virus in the 

body. Current medicines do not completely 

get rid of the virus, so treatment is often 

lifelong. People with chronic hepatitis B 

should avoid alcohol, drugs, supplements, 

and herbal medicines that may harm the 

liver. 

How can I protect my baby from 

hepatitis B? 

Getting tested for hepatitis B is especially 

important for pregnant women. If you are 

not infected, get the vaccine. If you have 

hepatitis B, make sure the doctor and staff 

that deliver your baby know so they can 

minimize your baby’s risk of infection. The 

hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immune 

globulin should be given to your baby 

immediately after birth, greatly reducing the 

chance of infection. 
NATIONAL DIGESTIVE DISEASES INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE (NDDIC) 

Where can I get more information 

about hepatitis B? 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral 

Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention 

Division of Viral Hepatitis 

1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop G–37 

Atlanta, GA 30333 

Phone: 1–800–232–4636 

TTY: 1–888–232–6348 

Fax: 404–718–8588 

Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 

Internet: www.cdc.gov/hepatitis 

National Digestive Diseases 

Information Clearinghouse 

2 Information Way 

Bethesda, MD 20892–3570 

Phone: 1–800–891–5389 

TTY: 1–866–569–1162 

Fax: 703–738–4929 

Email: nddic@info.niddk.nih.gov 

Internet: www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov 

The National Digestive Diseases 

Information Clearinghouse is a service of the 

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive 

and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The 

NIDDK is part of the National Institutes of 

Health of the U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services. 

This publication is not copyrighted. The 

Clearinghouse encourages people to 

duplicate and distribute as many copies as 

desired. 

Acknowledgments 

Publications produced by the Clearinghouse 

are carefully reviewed by both NIDDK 

scientists and outside experts. This 

publication was reviewed by Tram T. Tran, 

M.D., Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Geffen 

UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles. 

The NIDDK Awareness and Prevention Series is 

designed to make you ask yourself, “Could this be 

me or someone I care for?” So take a closer look. 

Additional information on this topic and other 

titles in the series is available through the National 

Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse or 

on the Internet at www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

AND HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

NIH Publication No. 11–7463 

June 2011