Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a vaccine-preventable liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B is spread when blood, semen, or other body fluids from a person infected with the virus enters the body of someone who is not infected. This can happen through sexual contact; sharing needles, syringes, or other drug-injection equipment; or from mother to baby at birth. For many people, Hepatitis B is a short-term illness. For others, it can become a long-term, chronic infection that can lead to serious, even life-threatening health issues like cirrhosis or liver cancer. There are potentially 2.4 million people living with Chronic Hepatitis B in the United States2 and an estimated 20,700 new Acute Hepatitis B infections annually.

Despite the availability of an effective vaccine, just 30% of adults in the U.S. Have been vaccinated against HBV.