Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is usually a long-term infection, not a short illness to get over. The honest news is that it can be controlled well in almost everyone, even though the virus itself does not go away.
Medically reviewed by the RIIMS medical team · Last updated: June 2026
Go to hospital now
- Yellow eyes or skin with confusion or unusual drowsiness
- Vomiting blood, or black tarry stools
- Jaundice during pregnancy
See a doctor soon (not an emergency)
- New jaundice in a known hepatitis B carrier
- A family member testing positive without you having been screened
- A pregnant woman who has not been tested for hepatitis B
What is hepatitis B, and does it need lifelong treatment?
Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver that can become chronic, staying in the body for years or for life. The World Health Organization estimates around 29 million people in India were living with hepatitis B in 2024, one of the largest numbers of any country. Not everyone with hepatitis B needs medicine. Many people have inactive or low-level infection and need only regular monitoring, blood tests and an ultrasound every six months to a year, to confirm the virus is staying quiet. When treatment is needed, antiviral tablets suppress the virus very effectively and meaningfully lower the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer over time. What antivirals do not do is clear the virus from the body completely. The WHO is direct about this: most people who start hepatitis B treatment must continue it for life, because stopping usually lets the virus become active again. Loss of the viral surface marker, HBsAg, the best available sign of long-term viral control, happens in only about 3 to 5% of treated patients even after ten years. Prevention remains the strongest tool available: the hepatitis B vaccine given at birth, ideally within 24 hours, is highly effective at stopping a newborn from acquiring the infection from an infected mother. Third-dose hepatitis B vaccine coverage in India has reached 86%, but birth-dose coverage, the single dose that matters most for stopping mother-to-child transmission, is still only around 45%. That gap, more than anything about the vaccine itself, is what still allows hepatitis B to pass from mother to child in India.
Symptoms to watch for
- Often no symptoms for years
- Tiredness
- Yellowing of the eyes or skin
- Loss of appetite or nausea
- Found incidentally on a blood test or during pregnancy screening
- Dark urine
When to consult a doctor
Get tested if a family member has hepatitis B, if you are pregnant, or if a routine blood test shows raised liver enzymes. If you already have hepatitis B and are on antiviral treatment, do not stop it on your own; any change needs to go through your doctor.