Study: Unvaccinated Infants at Risk of Hepatitis B from Household Exposure

• A retrospective cohort study examined over 158,000 children under 5 years old.
• Exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) mostly came from someone other than the mother in the household.
• Among babies infected before they turn 1, up to 90% develop a chronic, potentially lifelong infection.
• Hepatitis B can pass from mother to child during birth and through contact with infected blood or semen.
• There are treatments for hepatitis B, but no cure.