Hepatitis B is a global public health threat and the world’s most common serious liver infection. It is up to 100 times more infectious than the HIV/AIDS virus. It also is the primary cause of liver cancer (also known as hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC), which is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the world.
Hepatitis B Around the World
Two billion people have been infected with the hepatitis B virus (one out of three people)
Approximately 1.5 million people become newly infected each year
Almost 300 million people are chronically infected
Approximately 10% of infected individuals are diagnosed
An estimated 820,000 people die each year from hepatitis B and related complications such as liver cancer
Approximately two people die each minute from hepatitis B
Hepatitis B In the United States
Up to 2.4 million people are chronically infected
Rates of acute hepatitis B infection have risen 50%-450% in states impacted by the opioid crisis
For many countries, chronic hepatitis B rates are higher in males than females and have declined over the past three decades, but no consistent pattern is seen between rates for U.S. immigrants and residents.
More than 50% of people living with chronic hepatitis B are of Asian, Pacific Islander or African descent. Hepatitis B and the resulting liver cancer are among the largest health disparities for these groups
The weighted average chronic hepatitis B prevalence for all foreign-born people in the U.S. in 2018 was about 3%. Around 59% of those U.S. residents with chronic hepatitis B in the U.S. in 2018 emigrated from Asia, 19% from the Americas and 15% from Africa
Only 25% of infected individuals are diagnosed
Thousands of people die each year from hepatitis B