Spreading the Hepatitis B Virus
Hepatitis B is a highly contagious virus that can spread easily from person to person. In fact, the hepatitis B virus is 100 times more contagious than
HIV. The hepatitis B virus is spread when blood, semen, or other bodily fluids from an infected person enter the body of a person who is not infected. Some examples of the ways in which the hepatitis B virus can be spread include:
- Having sex with an infected person without using a condom (the effectiveness of latex condoms in preventing infection with the hepatitis B virus is unknown, but their proper use might reduce transmission)
- Sharing drugs, needles, or "works" when "shooting" drugs
- Through needlesticks or "sharps" exposures on the job
- From an infected mother to her baby during birth.
The hepatitis B virus is not spread through food or water, sharing eating utensils, breastfeeding, hugging, kissing, coughing, sneezing, or casual contact.
Following infection with the hepatitis B virus, a person does not immediately become sick. Once the hepatitis B virus enters the body, it travels to the liver, where it begins to multiply.
Hepatitis B symptoms usually appear approximately 60 days to 90 days later. This period between transmission and the beginning of hepatitis B symptoms is called the
hepatitis B incubation period. The hepatitis B incubation period can be as short as 30 days or as long as 180 days.
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