Adolescent Health

Hepatitis B: What Every Teen Should Know

• Are you a teenager, 11-12 years old?
• Do you live with someone who has hepatitis B?
• Were you or your parents born in Asia, Africa, the Amazon Basin in South America, the Pacific Islands, Eastern Europe, or the Middle East?
• Are you a Native American or Alaskan Native?
• Do you travel internationally?
• Do you have a job that could expose you to human blood or other body fluids?
• Do you practice tattooing or body piercing?
• Are you, or are you thinking about becoming, sexually active?
• Do you use street drugs?

What is hepatitis B?
The hepatitis B virus silently attacks your liver and frequently causes severe liver damage and liver cancer. It enters your body by contact with infected blood and needles as well as through unsafe sex. Hepatitis B kills over 5,000 Americans every year, many of which became infected during their teens or early twenties. Once a young person is infected, they may carry the virus for a lifetime and will, unknowingly, infect others.

How can I protect myself?
In the same way you were protected against measles, polio and whooping cough before entering grade school, you can now protect yourself against hepatitis B by getting a series of shots before entering high school or college. Please ask your doctor about this safe and very effective vaccine. If you don't have a doctor, ask your school or public health nurse where you can get your hepatitis B shots. Health officials are so concerned about protecting teens from the hepatitis B virus that they have made the vaccine available free of charge in many public health and school clinics throughout America.

Facts Every Teen Should Know About Hepatitis B

• Hepatitis B can kill.
• There is no cure for hepatitis B. But you can prevent hepatitis B infection with a vaccine that will protect you.
• Hepatitis B infects over 200,000 people in the US every year. Thousands of the victims are teens and young adults.
• Hepatitis B is a "silent disease" that often infects many teens without making them feel sick. If you do get sick from hepatitis B, the symptoms are like the "flu"; you lose your appetite, feel extremely tired, have stomach cramps, and throw up. If you are more seriously ill, your skin and eyes may turn yellow with jaundice and you may need to stay in the hospital.
• The hepatitis B virus is found in blood and other body fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions. Hepatitis B is very easy to catch. It is 100 times catchier than the virus that causes AIDS.
• Even if an infected person does not feel sick, he or she can still infect others.
• Hepatitis B kills over 5,000 Americans every year.
• Hepatitis B can be spread by sharing needles or razors; through sexual contact; and by tattooing or body piercing with unsterile equipment. But, nearly one-third of teens that become infected does so without knowing how they got the disease.
• Some teens that catch hepatitis B carry the virus in their bodies for a long time and may continue to unintentionally infect others.
• Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). It is the only STD for that there is a vaccine that will protect you.
• A very safe and effective vaccine against hepatitis B has been used since 1982. Please protect yourself. Get the vaccine.

These facts about Hepatitis B are courtesy of the
National Coalition of Adult Immunization

to reach their organization, please click here for more information.