ANNOUNCER: People at higher risk for hepatitis B include men who have sex with other men, children of immigrants from countries with high hepatitis B rates, such as Asia and India, and children born to infected mothers. But hepatitis B is often an under-diagnosed disease because infected people can often show no symptoms and can live for years without knowing they have the disease.
EMMET KEEFFE, MD: There are about 150 to 300,000 new cases per year in the US. Most individuals are asymptomatic. They don't know they're infected. Hepatitis B might also be identified when you go to get your first life insurance policy, or if you're a good soul and you go to become a blood donor, you'll be notified by the blood bank that you have hepatitis B. So the first detection is often quite coincidental.
ANNOUNCER: This "coincidental detection" occurs because hepatitis B presents in two phases. In an "acute" infection, people often are ill with flu-like symptoms. The acute symptoms usually go away by themselves over a short period of time, but may lead to a "chronic" infection, which is usually more serious. Chronic infections may last a lifetime and can result in cirrhosis of the liver, potentially leading to cancer of the liver or liver failure.
EMMET KEEFFE, MD: When hepatitis B occurs acutely in a child, it's often asymptomatic. When it occurs in an adult, 50 percent or more will have symptoms, and the symptoms are typically flulike symptoms, and if it's severe, there may be jaundice.
