What are the signs or symptoms of Hepatitis B?
Many adults have few or no symptoms. When symptoms are present they may include: • Anorexia (loss of appetite) • Malaise • Nausea and vomiting • Abdominal pain • Dark urine • Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) • Rash or arthritis may occur during the prodromal or early acute stage. Your health care provider can confirm HBV by using a special blood test to detect HBV particles or antibodies in the blood. Babies born to infected mothers should get blood tests at aged 9 to 15 months to be certain that the vaccine worked well and that the mother did not pass HBV to her baby during birth. Reducing the risk: Hepatitis B is preventable through vaccination. Since hepatitis D can only co-exist with hepatitis B, getting vaccinated against hepatitis B also protects you against hepatitis D. The HBV vaccine is given in a series of three doses. • A new combination vaccine called Twinrix has been approved for protection from both HAV and HBV in persons 18 and older. It reduces the total number
