What are the symptoms of acute hepatitis B infection?
Most people who get hepatitis B as babies or children do not look or feel sick at all. Similarly, over half of the adults who get hepatitis B never have any symptoms of the disease. Once you get hepatitis B infection, it may take from six weeks to six months for signs or symptoms to appear. If people do have signs or symptoms, they may include: Loss of appetite Yellow skin and eyes (jaundice) Nausea, vomiting Fever Weakness, tiredness, inability to work for weeks or months Abdominal pain Dark urine Most people recover from acute hepatitis B infection in about six months. About 10 percent of adults will become chronic carriers after they recover. Approximately 90 percent of infants infected with hepatitis B virus will become carriers. Hepatitis B carriers continue to have the hepatitis B virus and can infect others, even though their symptoms diminish.
