A liver virus that can become a long-term, often silent infection. Explore its illustrative 3D model, human context, and sources.
Hepatitis B infects the liver and can be acute or chronic. WHO describes spread through contact with infected blood and body fluids, unsafe injections and sharps exposures, and most commonly from mother to child at birth or in early childhood in high-burden areas. Chronic infection raises the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer, and a safe vaccine offers close to complete protection.
WHO estimates 240 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B in 2024 and about 1.1 million deaths, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Infection acquired in adulthood becomes chronic in fewer than 5% of cases, while infection in infancy and early childhood becomes chronic in about 95%. This describes populations, not one person's outcome.
Hepatitis B virus · enveloped Dane particle. The complete virion is shown; abundant noninfectious subviral particles are omitted. The colours, proportions, protein shapes and visible counts are illustrative, not measured or an atomic reconstruction. Independent scientific review remains pending.
Source check: 2026-09-19. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.