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Hepatitis B
Who has it?
Hepatitis is the most common serious infectious disease. Up to 60,000 new cases of hepatitis B are reported each year in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.25 million Americans are infected with chronic hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B affects individuals of both sexes and all ages, ethnic groups, and sexual orientations. About one-fifth of the world's population will have hepatitis B at sometime in their lives. It is more common in males, with the highest occurrence between the ages of 20 and 49 years. Individuals with hemophilia may be slightly more at risk if they use clotting factors that are made from human blood.
In the United States, the acute form of hepatitis has been declining due to the availability of an effective vaccine and the aggressive promotion of vaccination among children and teenagers. Changes in high-risk behavior may also contribute to the decrease. In 1990, approximately 21,000 Americans were believed to have acute hepatitis B. By 2002, that number had dropped to approximately 8,000.
Chronic hepatitis B affects an estimated 1.25 million Americans and about 400 million chronic carriers are believed to exist in the world's population. As the number of acute cases goes down, the number of chronic carriers of hepatitis B is also expected to decline. However, increases in occurrence have been observed among the major risk groups: individuals with compromised immune systems, sexually active individuals, and injectable drug users.
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Who has it?
