Fact Sheet Hepatitis B: Information for Health Professionals, August 26, 2015

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a DNA virus and is a major cause of acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Each year in the U.S. alone, there are approximately 78,000 new infections, and there are an estimated 200,000-300,000 million carriers in the world. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be transmitted percutaneously (needlestick), permucosally (blood into eye, sexual intercourse), non-intact skin (blood or secretions into open wounds/cuts/dermatitis, etc.), perinatally, and continuous close contact. Because HBV is stable on environmental surfaces for at least 7 days, indirect inoculation can occur via inanimat