What Should I Know About Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B remains one of those scary terms that you occasionally hear healthcare professionals use. You also hear about this somewhat mysterious disease in the media from time to time. But just what is Hepatitis B and what should we know about it? Hepatitis B is a DNA virus that can be found in the blood. It attacks the liver. A name you may run across is HBV, which is short form of Hepatitis B Virus. The term, hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. What is important to know when considering how HBV is spread is that, as far as we know, it is transmitted mainly via blood contact. To be a little more specific, infection can occur when the blood from an infected person enters the body. Other body fluids can also contain HBV, but usually in much lower concentrations. It is possible to receive HBV via a bite from an infected person. It is suspected that the sharing of toothbrushes or razors might allow for an infection to be contracted. HBV is also a sexually transmitted disease. T