Hepatitis B is a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. The virus, which is called hepatitis B virus (HBV), can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure, and death.

Hepatitis B vaccine is available for all age groups to prevent hepatitis B virus infection.

More resources can be found at the following links:

• CDC en Español
• CDC Publications (MMWR recommendations and surveillance guidelines)
• Correctional Settings
• Educational Materials
• Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Hemodialysis Guidelines
• Hepatitis B Coordinators
• Illegal Injection Drug Use
• Integrating Hepatitis B Vaccination into STD and HIV/AIDS Programs
• Links
• Post-exposure Prophylaxis Guidelines for Healthcare Workers
• Serology
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines
• Vaccine
• Vaccine Schedules
  • Interrupted schedules
    
    

CDC is not a treatment facility. If you are looking for information about treatment for hepatitis B, visit the following websites: AASLD Update of Chronic Hepatitis B Recommendations AASLD Practice Guidelines PubMed Article on Adefovir dipivoxil treatment (e antigen-positive) PubMed Article on Adefovir dipivoxil treatment (e antigen-negative) Information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Educational Materials

• CDC Viral Hepatitis brochures/posters
  • Order brochures/posters in bulk: Electronic Order Form (PDF order form, 29 KB )
• Brochures
  • Prevent Hepatitis B: Get Vaccinated
    • English Language version
    • Spanish Language version
    • Russian Language version
  • Living with Chronic Hepatitis B
    • English Language version
    • Spanish Language version
    • Russian Language version
• Posters
• Prevent STDs Among MSM (health professionals)
• Prevent STDs (general public)
• Slide Sets
• Hepatitis B slide set
• Hepatitis B and You, a PowerPoint health education program, is designed to educate women who test positive for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) during pregnancy.
• new: Download Chinese Language version
• new: Download Spanish Language version
  
• Back to Basics: The Challenge of Reinstating Hepatitis B Vaccination at Birth - Educational program for physicians and hospital staff
  Acrobat Reader version (168 KB)
• Hepatitis B and Refugees: A Clinical Perspective - information on hepatitis B and the increased risk for hepatitis B among refugees in the United States
• Adults Only Vaccination: A Step-by-Step Guide* - a complete how-to on incorporating adult vaccination into an existing vaccine program or enhance existing adult immunization services. Order a kit for a fee or download a pdf for free.

Correctional Settings

• Correctional Health Information
• Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Infections with
  Hepatitis Viruses in Correctional Settings
  • Errata: Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Infections with
    Hepatitis Viruses in Correctional Settings

Hemodialysis

• Recommendations for Preventing Transmission of Infections Among Chronic Hemodialysis Patients.
  MMWR, 4/27/01 vol. 50(rr-5).
  Acrobat Reader version (386 KB)

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Injection Drug Use
CDC estimates that illegal injection drug use accounts for 60% of all new cases of hepatitis C and is a major risk factor for infection with hepatitis B virus.

• Viral Hepatitis and Injection Drug Users: series of fact sheets addressing viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis B and C – two important blood-borne infections that have a major impact on injection drug users (IDUs)
• American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence: links to governement and non-government agencies that address substance abuse
• Center for Substance Abuse Treatment: information from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Drug Addiction Treatment Facility Locator
    

Links (all external sites*)

• HepClinics: online guide to free and low-cost hepatitis clinics for groups at increased risk for viral hepatitis
• Hepatitis B Foundation: a national nonprofit organization dedicated to those lives affected by hepatitis B
• Immunization Action Coalition: source of childhood, adolescent, and adult immunization information and hepatitis B educational materials
• American Liver Foundation: national, nonprofit health agency dedicated to preventing, treating, and curing hepatitis and all liver diseases through research, education, and support groups
• StopHep.Com: information on hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine for MSM
• Asian Liver Center at Stanford University: a non-profit organization in the United States that addresses the high incidence of hepatitis B virus infection and liver cancer among Asians and Asian-Americans.
• Liver Disease Research Branch at NIDDK: to focus and accelerate research on liver disease at NIDDK and to help coordinate and stimulate liver-related research across the NIH and within other Federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Veterans Affairs Administration.
• Clinical Trials
  
  

Post-Exposure Prophylaxis

• Updated U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines for the Management of Occupational Exposures to HBV, HCV, and HIV and Recommendations for Post-exposure Prophylaxis
  MMWR, 6/29/01 vol. 50(rr-11)
  Acrobat Reader version (333 KB)

Serology

• Table on the interpretation of hepatitis B serology

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Vaccine

• Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports
  • General Recommendations on Immunization: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
    MMWR, 02/08/02 vol. 51(RR02);1-36.
  • Notice to Readers: FDA Approval for a Combined Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B Vaccine, 
    MMWR, 9/21/01 vol. 50(37); 806-7. 
  • Hepatitis Prevention Through Universal Childhood Vaccination: Recommendations of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP)
    MMWR, 11/22/91 vol. 40(rr-13); 1-19.
• Pediarix™: a combination product containing DTaP, hepatitis B, and inactivated polio vaccines. It is produced by GlaxoSmithKline, and was licensed on December 13, 2002.
• "Recombinant Hepatitis B Vaccine and the Risk of Multiple Sclerosis”
  Key Messages (9/14/04)
• Thimerosal & Vaccines: A New Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report
  Immunization Safety Review: Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and
  Neurodevelopmental Disorders (2001).
• Twinrix^®: combined hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine, (9/21/01)
• Hepatitis B Vaccine Fact Sheet
• Vaccine Information Statement - Hepatitis B Vaccine - What you Need to Know
• Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program
• Adults Only Vaccination: A Step-by-Step Guide - a complete how-to on incorporating adult vaccination into an existing vaccine program or enhance existing adult immunization services. Order a kit for a fee or download a pdf for free.
  (external site*)

Vaccine Schedules

• Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule --- United States, January--June 2004
  MMWR, 01/16/04 vol. 53(RR01)
• Printable childhood and adult immunzation schedules, 2004
  National Immunization Program, CDC
• Alternate Two-Dose Hepatitis B Vaccination Schedule for Adolescents Aged 11-15 Years MMWR, 3/31/00 vol. 49(12); 261.
  Acrobat Reader version (183 KB)
• Recommended dosages and schedules of hepatitis B vaccines (external site)*
• Combinations using the hepatitis A and/or hepatitis B vaccines (external site)*
• Interrupted hepatitis vaccine schedules

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