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Hepatitis B can be prevented with a highly effective vaccine, but this year

ten to thirty million people will become infected with the hepatitis B virus. I feel

that because this disease is preventable, only knowledge can help reduce the

number of people infected.

Hepatitis B is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. This

virus is a blood-borne pathogen. It is one hundred times more infectious than

HIV. “Hepatitis B is one of the most frequently reported vaccine preventable

diseases in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control.

This disease is transmitted through oral, vaginal, and anal sex. You can

also acquire the disease through sharing needles, toothbrushes, and razors, or if

you come in contact with infected blood. For these reasons, the people at the

highest risk of contracting the disease are: anyone who is sexually active;

health, dental, and emergency workers; adoptive families with children form

Asia, Africa, South America, Eastern and Mediterranean Europe (as these areas

have a high number of people infected); drug users; and anyone in close contact

with someone infected. This is not as scary as it seems, for you cannot contract

the virus through sneezing, coughing, or holding hands.

A surprising fact about hepatitis B, considering it is preventable, is that

one in twenty people are or will be infected in their lifetime. There are one

million people infected in the United States. More than 350 million people

worldwide are chronic carriers of the virus. A chronic carrier is someone with the

virus in their blood, and can who can pass the disease to others.

Fifty percent of those infected with the virus (a.k.a....