hepatitis B

noun

Definition of hepatitis B

: an acute or chronic hepatitis that is caused by a DNA virus (species Hepatitis B virus of the genus Orthohepadnavirus, family Hepadnaviridae), is marked chiefly by fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, darkened urine, jaundice, and joint pain but may be asymptomatic, and is transmitted especially by contact with infected blood (as by transfusion or by sharing contaminated needles in illicit intravenous drug use) or by contact with other infected bodily fluids (such as semen)

Note: The acute form of hepatitis B, a mild illness lasting several weeks to months, may progress to long-term or chronic infection often leading to liver damage, liver failure, or liver cancer.

— called also serum hepatitis

Examples of hepatitis B in a Sentence

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In Los Angeles, practitioners simply have to register with county officials, get a hepatitis B shot, and take a two-hour bloodborne-pathogens training course to start working as a semipermanent-makeup artist. — Monica Corcoran Harel, Marie Claire, "What Is Cosmetic Tattooing? Read This Before You Get One," 29 Mar. 2019 Vaccines can prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B, but no vaccines have been developed to protect against the other three diseases. — USA TODAY, "5 kinds of hepatitis all attack one organ in the body," 29 May 2018 According to the researchers, 71% of liver-cancer cases can potentially be prevented through lifestyle changes, such as not smoking, increasing physical activity, losing weight and preventing hepatitis B and C viruses. — Amy Dockser Marcus, WSJ, "Cancer Deaths Decline 27% Over 25 Years," 8 Jan. 2019 Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C has no connection to food. — Shari Rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "Hepatitis outbreaks: 10 things to know about the liver disease," 15 June 2018 The remaining 55 are tests for diseases the W.H.O. considers of highest priority: H.I.V., tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HPV and syphilis. — New York Times, "For First Time, W.H.O. Names Some Lab Tests ‘Essential’," 21 May 2018 Each year, the World Health Organization estimates, hepatitis B kills 887,000 people. — Carl Zimmer, New York Times, "In Ancient Skeletons, Scientists Discover a Modern Foe: Hepatitis B," 9 May 2018 More than 90% of children under the age of 3 have been vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, chickenpox, and polio. — Brittany Shoot, Fortune, "These Are the Riskiest Cities and Counties For Infectious Disease Epidemics," 14 June 2018 Oftentimes, cancer is caused by infectious viruses such as hepatitis B and human papillomavirus, which can be prevented with a vaccine. — Molly Sullivan, sacbee, "How do you get a skeptical patient to test for cancer? UCD, health center target cultural barriers," 2 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hepatitis B.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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13 Apr 2019

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The first known use of hepatitis B was in 1971

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hepatitis B

noun

\ -ˈbē

Medical Definition of hepatitis B

: an acute or chronic hepatitis that is caused by a double-stranded DNA virus (species Hepatitis B virus of the genus Orthohepadnavirus, family Hepadnaviridae), is marked chiefly by fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, darkened urine, jaundice, and joint pain but may be asymptomatic, and is transmitted especially by contact with infected blood (as by transfusion or by sharing contaminated needles in illicit intravenous drug use) or by contact with other infected body fluids (as semen)

Note: The acute form of hepatitis B, a mild illness lasting several weeks to months, may progress to long-term or chronic infection often leading to liver damage, liver failure, or liver cancer.

— called also serum hepatitis