Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. It can cause short-term illness with jaundice and fatigue, but the real danger comes when infection becomes lifelong. Over years, it scars the liver and can lead to cirrhosis or cancer. Babies are especially at risk of chronic infection. For this reason, vaccination begins within 24 hours of birth. Since newborn vaccination became standard, hepatitis B infections in U.S. children have fallen by more than 90 percent. This early protection has spared millions from developing chronic liver disease.

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