Hepatitis B (HBV)

A serious, life-threatening non-curable but preventable disease!

What is this disease?

• a non-discriminatory disease
• caused by a virus
• attacks the liver

How do I get it?

It is transmitted in the following ways:

• by having direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person
• have sex with someone infected with hepatitis B (HBV)
• have sex with more than one partner
• if you are a man and have sex with a man
• live with someone who has lifelong HBV infection
• have a work that involves contact with human blood
• shoot drugs
• have haemophilia
• patients undergoing haemodialysis
• travel in areas where hepatitis B is common
• being stuck with a used needle
• sharing items such as razors, toothbrush etc.
• during birth when the infected mother passes the virus to her baby
• immigrants from disease-endemic areas

NB! People can spread hepatitis B without even knowing they have it!
NB! Other forms of hepatitis do not make you immune against hepatitis

Problems associated with hepatitis B:

• eyes or skin may turn yellow
• may have loss of appetite
• may have nausea, vomiting, fever, stomach or joint pain
• may feel extremely tired and not able to work for weeks or months
• abdominal pain l
• iver cirrhosis\cancer
• coma
• death

Prevention:

• hepatitis B vaccination to:infants, children between 11 and 12, and high risk groups of all ages
• screening of pregnant women, and blood\organ\tissue donors,

If you bring your HBV vaccination to the clinic, we will gladly immunize you. It can be bought at any chemist.