How does HBV differ from hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV)?
HBV, HCV, and HAV are viruses that attack and injure the liver, and can cause similar symptoms. Usually people get HAV infection from close personal contact with an infected person or from ingesting fecally-contaminated food or water. HBV and HCV are spread when an infected persons blood or blood contaminated body fluids enter another persons bloodstream. HBV and HCV infections can cause chronic liver problems. HAV does not. There are vaccines that will protect people from HAV infection and HBV infection. Currently, there is no vaccine to protect people from HCV infection. There are medications that are approved by the FDA for treatment of chronic HBV and HCV infections. If a person has had one type of viral hepatitis in the past, it is still possible to get the other types. When did hepatitis B vaccine become available? The first hepatitis B vaccine became commercially available in the United States in 1982. In 1986, a hepatitis B vaccine produced by recombinant DNA technology was lic
