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There is no specific treatment for acute hepatitis B. Care is aimed at maintaining comfort and adequate nutritional balance, including replacement of fluids that are lost from vomiting and diarrhoea.

Chronic hepatitis B can be treated with drugs, including interferon and anti-viral agents, which can help some patients. Treatment can cost thousands of dollars per year and is not available to most patients in developing countries.

Liver cancer is almost always fatal, and often develops in people at an age when they are most productive and have family responsibilities. In developing countries, most people with liver cancer die within months of diagnosis. In higher income countries, surgery and chemotherapy can prolong life for up to a few years in some patients.Patients with cirrhosis are sometimes given liver transplants, with varying success.

Acute hepatitis B infection does not usually require treatment because most adults clear the infection spontaneously. Early antiviral treatment may only be required in fewer than 1% of patients, whose infection takes a very aggressive course (fulminant hepatitis) or who are immunocompromised. On the other hand, treatment of chronic infection may be necessary to reduce the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Chronically infected individuals with persistently elevated serum alanine aminotransferase, a marker of liver damage, and HBV DNA levels are candidates for therapy.

Although none of the available drugs can clear the infection, they can stop the virus from replicating, thus minimizing liver damage. Currently, there are seven medications licensed for treatment of hepatitis B infection in the United States. These include antiviral drugs lamivudine (Epivir), adefovir (Hepsera), tenofovir (Viread), telbivudine (Tyzeka) and entecavir (Baraclude) and the two immune system modulators interferon alpha-2a and PEGylated interferon alpha-2a (Pegasys). The use of interferon, which requires injections daily or thrice weekly, has been supplanted by long-acting PEGylated interferon, which is injected only once weekly. However, some individuals are much more likely to respond than others and this might be because of the genotype of the infecting virus or the patient’s heredity. The treatment reduces viral replication in the liver, thereby reducing the viral load (the amount of virus particles as measured in the blood).

Infants born to mothers known to carry hepatitis B can be treated with antibodies to the hepatitis B virus (HBIg). When given with the vaccine within twelve hours of birth, the risk of acquiring hepatitis B is reduced 90%. This treatment allows a mother to safely breastfeed her child.

Response to treatment differs between the genotypes. Interferon treatment may produce an e antigen seroconversion rate of 37% in genotype A but only a 6% seroconversion in type D. Genotype B has similar seroconversion rates to type A while type C seroconverts only in 15% of cases. Sustained e antigen loss after treatment is ~45% in types A and B but only 25–30% in types C and D.

In July 2005, researchers identified an association between a host-derived DNA-binding protein and the amount of HBV replication in the liver. Controlling the level of production of this protein could be used to treat hepatitis B.

If your doctor determines your hepatitis B infection is acute meaning it is short-lived and will go away on its own you may not need treatment. Instead, your doctor will work to reduce any signs and symptoms you experience while your body fights the infection. Your doctor may recommend follow-up blood tests to make sure the virus has left your body.

Treatment for chronic hepatitis B infection.If you’ve been diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B infection, your doctor may recommend:

1.Liver Transplant:If your liver has been severely damaged, a liver transplant may be an option. During a liver transplant, the surgeon removes your damaged liver and replaces it with a healthy liver. Most transplanted livers come from deceased donors, though a small number come from living donors.

2.Antiviral Medications:Antiviral medications help fight the virus and slow its ability to damage your liver. Several medications are available. Your doctor can suggest which medications may be most appropriate for you.

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease in the liver. Hepatitis B can have serious health effects. Hepatitis B can cause liver failure, liver cancer, and cirrhosis. Infants should receive a hepatitis vaccine. Infants and children have a higher risk in developing hepatitis. Causes of hepatitis B can be from sexual contact with an infected partner, sharing needles, or from a pregnant mother, to a child. Those who are pregnant with hepatitis, should tell their doctor.

Hepatitis B is contagious. It can effect someone through blood, semen, or body fluids. Hepatitis B can be acute or chronic. Acute is between 3-6 months of being infected. Those with chronic hepatitis B usually don’t have symptoms, and they can’t fight off the virus. There’s a treatment called interferon for those with chronic hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis B usually develops in children and infants.

Acute hepatitis B symptoms can be loss of appetite, abdominal pain, dark urine, and weakness. Sometimes you don’t need hepatitis B treatment, and symptoms can go away with proper rest. It’s still best to seek a doctor if you think you have hepatitis B symptoms.