What is hepatitis B?
A common infection of the liver — and, for most people, a very manageable one.
Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The liver is a vital organ that filters your blood, helps digest food, and fights infection. When the virus is present, it can inflame the liver.
For some people the infection is short-lived — called acute hepatitis B — and clears on its own. For others it becomes long-term, or chronic, meaning the virus stays in the body. Whether an infection becomes chronic largely depends on the age at which someone was infected: most adults clear it, while infection early in life is more likely to persist.
Because hepatitis B is usually silent, many people feel completely well and only learn they have it through a blood test. That's normal — and it's exactly why staying connected with a care team matters, so the condition can be watched over time.