{"id":9471,"date":"2025-03-01T13:55:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T18:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/hepb\/"},"modified":"2025-03-02T00:23:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T05:23:36","slug":"hepb","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/dpc\/hepb\/","title":{"rendered":"dpc\/hepb ~  DPH Disease Information: Hepatitis B  &#8211; Delaware Health and Social Services &#8211; State of Delaware"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-swiftype-index=\"true\">\n\n\n\n\n\n  <br>\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n  <div class=\"container\" id=\"main_header\">\n\n\n    \n\n\n\n\n\n <!-- BEGIN readspeaker div -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"rs_skip rsbtn rs_preserve\" id=\"readspeaker_button1\">\n\n\n      <a accesskey=\"L\" class=\"rsbtn_play\" href=\"https:\/\/app-na.readspeaker.com\/cgi-bin\/rsent?customerid=7262&#038;lang=en_us&#038;readid=main_content&#038;url=https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/dpc\/hepb.html\" title=\"Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker\">\n\n\n        <span class=\"rsbtn_left rsimg rspart\"><span class=\"rsbtn_text\"><span>Listen<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\n\n        <span class=\"rsbtn_right rsimg rsplay rspart\"><\/span>\n\n\n      <\/a>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <!-- END readspeaker div -->\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n    \n\n\n    <header class=\"pull-left\">\n\n\n      <h1><!--[type=EDIT name=\"Page Title\"]-->Hepatitis B<!--[END]--><\/h1>\n\n\n    <\/header>\n\n\n    \n\n\n  <\/div><br>\n\n\n \n\n\n  <div class=\"container\">\n\n\n    <div class=\"row\">\n\n\n      <div class=\"col-md-3\" id=\"leftCol\">\n\n\n        <div class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\">\n\n\n          <div class=\"panel sectionmenu_panel\">\n\n\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\">\n\n\n              <p class=\"panel-title\"><a class=\"agency_nav\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapseOne\"><strong><i class=\"fa fa-align-justify fa-fw\"><\/i> Public Health Menu<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n            <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n            <div class=\"panel-collapse collapse in\" id=\"collapseOne\">\n\n\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" id=\"clf_nav\">\n\n\n                  <ul class=\"nav nav-stacked nav-pills-clf\" id=\"agency_sidebar\">\n    <li><a href=\"\/dph\/\"><h2>Home <i class=\"fa fa-home fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a><\/li>\n    <li class=\"toplevel\"><a data-parent=\"#agency_sidebar\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#HomeMenu\"><h2>About <i class=\"fa fa-caret-right fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a>\n      <ul class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"HomeMenu\">\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/about.html\">About DPH<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/sections.html\">Sections &#038; Programs<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/ofclocations.html\">Office Locations<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/contact.html\">Contact Info<\/a><\/li>\n      \n        <li><a href=\"\/calendars.html\" target=\"_blank\">Calendar<\/a><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/li>\n    <li class=\"toplevel\"><a data-parent=\"#sidebar\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#ServicesMenu\"><h2>Services <i class=\"fa fa-caret-right fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a>\n      <ul class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"ServicesMenu\">\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/servicesaz.html\">A-Z Services<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/hsp\/environmental.html\">Air &#038; Water Quality<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/ss\/vitalstats.html\">Birth, Death, &#038; Marriage Records<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/clinics.html\">Clinics<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/healthdatastats.html\">Health Data &#038; Statistics<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/php\/emsps.html\">Emergency Preparedness<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/healthandwellness.html\">Health &#038; Wellness<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/hsp\/healthyhomes.html\">Healthy Homes<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/hsp\/healthywp.html\">Healthy Workplaces<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/lab\/labs.html\">Laboratory<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/hsp\/feir.html\">Restaurant Inspections<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/screen.html\">Screening and Testing<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/chca\/dphwichominf01.html\">WIC<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/servicesadd.html\">Additional Services<\/a><\/li><li>\n      <\/li><\/ul>\n    <\/li>\n    <li class=\"toplevel\"><a data-parent=\"#sidebar\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#InformationMenu\"><h2>Information <i class=\"fa fa-caret-right fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a>\n        <ul class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"InformationMenu\">\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/factsheetsaz.html\">A-Z Fact Sheets<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/pubreportsaz.html\">A-Z Publications &#038; Reports<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/diseasesandconditions.html\">Diseases &#038; Conditions<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/faq.html\">FAQ&#8217;s<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/php\/alerts.html\">Health Alerts<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/healthylifestyles.html\">Healthy Lifestyles<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/hipaa.html\">HIPAA<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/regs.html\">Regulations<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/forms.html\">Request Forms<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/links.html\">Links &#038; Resources<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"http:\/\/delaware.gov\/help\/foia_request.shtml\">FOIA Request Form<\/a><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/li>\n    <li><a id=\"SocialMenuHeader\"><h2>Connect <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-o-up fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a>\n      <ul id=\"SocialMenu\">\n        <li class=\"facebook\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DEPublicHealth\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Division of Public Health Facebook Page\"><i class=\"fa fa-facebook-square fa-lg\"><\/i> Facebook<\/a><\/li>\n        <li class=\"twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Delaware_DHSS\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Delaware Health and Social Services Twitter Account\"><i class=\"fa fa-twitter-square fa-lg\"><\/i> Twitter<\/a><\/li>\n        <!-- <li class=\"googleplus\"><a href=\"#\"><i class=\"fa fa-google-plus-square fa-lg\"><\/i> Google +<\/a><\/li>\n        <li class=\"flickr\"><a href=\"#\"><i class=\"fa fa-flickr fa-lg\"><\/i> Flickr<\/a><\/li>\n        <li class=\"youtube\"><a href=\"#\"><i class=\"fa fa-youtube-square fa-lg\"><\/i> Youtube<\/a><\/li>\n        <li class=\"instagram\"><a href=\"#\"><i class=\"fa fa-instagram fa-lg\"><\/i> Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n        <li class=\"linkedin\"><a href=\"#\"><i class=\"fa fa-linkedin-square fa-lg\"><\/i> Linkedin<\/a><\/li>\n        <li class=\"pinterest\"><a href=\"#\"><i class=\"fa fa-pinterest-square fa-lg\"><\/i> Pinterest<\/a><\/li> -->\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n\n\n              <\/div>\n\n\n            <\/div>\n\n\n          <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div><br>\n\n\n      <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n      <div class=\"col-md-9\" id=\"main_content\"> \n\n\n  <!--[type=HTMLEDIT name=\"Content\"]-->\n\n\n<h2>What is Hepatitis B?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Hepatitis B (formerly known as serum Hepatitis) is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis B Virus.\u00a0 The disease affects 140,000 \u2013 320,000 persons per year in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2>Who gets Hepatitis B?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Anyone can get Hepatitis B, but those at greatest risk include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul>\n\n\n\n <li>Babies born to mothers who are infectious with the Hepatitis B Virus (including carriers);<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Injection drug users (or persons who share needles);<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Persons in occupations where there is contact with infected blood and other infectious body fluids, which include saliva (persons who work in settings such as centers, healthcare workers, first responders, etc.);<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Sexually active homosexual and bisexual men;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Anyone with multiple sex partners;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Men and women who have a recent diagnosis of another sexually transmitted disease;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Hemodialysis patients;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Persons who receive unscreened blood products;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Certain household contacts of an infected person;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Household contacts and sexual partners of Hepatitis B carriers;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Inmates of long term correctional facilities;<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Persons from countries where Hepatitis B is widespread (certain areas of Asia and Africa);<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Persons in the United States who are Alaskan Natives or Pacific Islanders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2>How is the virus spread?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Hepatitis B Virus can be found in the blood of infected persons; it is also present in lesser amounts in semen, semen vaginal secretions, amniotic fluid, body fluids containing blood, unfixed tissues and organs, and saliva.\u00a0 Hepatitis B virus is spread through sexual contact (homosexual and heterosexual), needle sharing, needle stick injury, mucous membrane exposure, and direct contact with infected body fluids.\u00a0 Hepatitis B virus is not spread by casual contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2>What are the symptoms of Hepatitis B?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Many persons with Hepatitis B infection have no symptoms at all, or they may be mild and flu like (i.e.: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue).\u00a0 Some patients may notice darkened urine (iced tea colored), light colored stools or yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice).\u00a0 A few persons will experience a more severe disease syndrome and may die of overwhelming liver failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2>How soon do symptoms appear?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The symptoms, if they appear, may occur as early as 45 days to as long as 180 days following exposure, the average is 60 \u2013 90 days.\u00a0 The variation in time for onset of symptoms is related in part to the amount of virus transmitted at the time of exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2>How is Hepatitis B diagnosed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Since there are several types of viral Hepatitis, a blood test is needed to determine, which type of Hepatitis is present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div>\n\n\n\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"color:#B22222;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"color:#B22222;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">24\/7 Emergency Contact Number: 1-888-295-5156<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><a href=\"\/dph\/epi\/epi.html\">Return to Infectious Disease Home Page<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n  <!--[END]-->\n\n\n  \n\n\n      <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><!-- \/container -->\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen Hepatitis B Public Health Menu Home About About DPH Sections &#038; Programs Office Locations Contact Info Calendar Services A-Z Services Air &#038; Water Quality Birth, Death, &#038; Marriage Records Clinics Health Data &#038; Statistics Emergency Preparedness Health &#038; Wellness Healthy Homes Healthy Workplaces Laboratory Restaurant Inspections Screening and Testing WIC Additional Services Information A-Z [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":9401,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9471","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10710,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9471\/revisions\/10710"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}