liver and gallbladder disorders
Hepatitis B, Acute
Transmission of hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is less easily transmitted than hepatitis A. Transmission commonly occurs when needles are reused without being first sterilized—as when people share needles to inject drugs or when needles are reused to apply tattoos. Transmission through blood transfusions is possible but is now rare in the United States because blood is screened. Hepatitis B is also spread through contact with saliva, tears, breast milk, urine, vaginal fluid, and semen, but such spread is less common than blood-to-blood transmission. Transmission may occur between sex partners, both heterosexual and homosexual. Also at increased risk are people living in close quarters (such as prisons and mental health institutions) because contact with another person's body fluid is more likely. A pregnant woman infected with hepatitis B can transmit the virus to her baby during birth (see Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Infection in Newborns ). Anyone with hepatitis B, even people who do not have symptoms, can transmit the virus. Whether insect bites can transmit this virus is not clear. Many cases of hepatitis B have no known source. 