What is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver that is caused by the Hepatitis B virus.

How do you get Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B virus is spread through direct contact with blood or body fluids of an infected person. The different ways in which Hepatitis B can be spread include:

• From infected mothers to their newborn babies during childbirth
• Sexual intercourse
• Sharing contaminated needles
• Exposure of broken skin or mucous membranes to blood or body fluids contaminated with Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is not spread by food and water or casual contact.

Who is a carrier of Hepatitis B?
A carrier is person who is infected with the virus with no signs of the disease; they carry the virus and may infect others for the rest of their lives.

What happens if you get infected with the Hepatitis B virus?
You may not have symptoms at all. If you have symptoms they may include fatigue, vomiting, your skin may turn yellow, you may have belly pain, dark urine, light stools. Sometimes chronic infection develops which may progress to chronic liver disease..

Why is Hepatitis B important in International Adoptions?
Studies have found 1 –5% of internationally adopted children to have active Hepatitis B. There have been reports of international adoptees infecting members of their adoptive family

International adoptees may become infected through a number of routes:

• From their mother at the time of birth; hepatitis B is a common infection in many countries from which children are adopted
• Through the use of contaminated needles to draw blood or give injections; due to settings with limited resources, needles are sometimes reused
• Due to overcrowding and poor hygiene, children living in institutionalized settings may get infected from their infected peers.
• It is possible for a child to get infected from being sexually abused by an infected person.

Should my child to be tested for Hepatitis B in their birth country?
Testing for Hepatitis B is possible in the child’s country of birth and required by the Immigration and Naturalization service. However, there may be some difficulties that you should keep in mind:

• Tests may not be accurate and results may be wrong
• There is always the risk of the child getting infected from a contaminated needle used to draw the blood.
• The test may be done at a time when the child has just been infected with the virus but before the blood test has turned positive ( Window period )

We advise repeating a complete Hepatitis B screening panel in the immediate post-adoption period

~and 6 months post-adoption.

Can Hepatitis B be prevented?
Yes. A safe and effective vaccine is available to prevent Hepatitis B. It can be given to children of any age. The vaccine is given in three separate doses; an initial dose, followed by a second dose 1 month later and a third dose six months after the initial dose.

We recommend that all family member and persons who will be in close contact with internationally adopted children receive Hepatitis B immunization.

What can be done to decrease the risk of Hepatitis B in Childcare Settings?
To reduce the spread of Hepatitis B:

• Make sure that all children and adults use good hand washing practices.
• Do not allow children to share toothbrushes.
• Clean up blood spills immediately
• Wear gloves when cleaning up blood spills unless the spill is so small it can be contained in the cloth or towel being used to clean it up
• Wear gloves when changing a diaper soiled with bloody stools.
• Disinfect any surfaces on which blood has been spilled, using freshly prepared bleach solution.
• If a child provider has open sores, cuts, or other abrasions on the hands, the provider should wear gloves when changing diapers or cleaning up blood spills.
• Observe children for aggressive behavior such as biting.
• Keep immunization records up to date