Monday, October 29, 2018

Best at Birth: Get Your Baby the Hepatitis B Vaccine

"Ensure your baby gets the hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth. The CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend all children receive their first dose of hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth and complete the vaccine series by age 6–18 months.

Babies and Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is an infectious liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. Some people are able to fight the infection and clear the virus. For others, the infection remains and is “chronic,” or lifelong. Over time, the chronic hepatitis B can cause serious health problems, and even liver cancer. There is no cure for hepatitis B.
Mothers can pass the hepatitis B virus to their baby during childbirth without knowing it, since it is passed through blood and bodily fluids. Babies can also get hepatitis B through blood or other body fluids that contain a small amount of blood from an infected person. People can spread the virus even when they have no symptoms..."
Babies and Hepatitis B

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