Library · Microorganism
Hepatitis B virus
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Hepatitis B virus causes a liver infection that can be fatal. It is often transmitted through body fluids: blood, semen, vaginal secretions.
The interesting part is how the liver gets damaged. The damage is mostly immune mediated, that is, caused in large part by the body's own defenses. Infected cells end up with viral proteins sticking out of their membrane, and those proteins act like a mark; T lymphocytes, the defense cells that eliminate diseased cells, recognize the mark and destroy those cells. Infected cells end up marked on the outside, and the immune system goes after that mark.
Whether the infection stays or not comes down to one specific criterion. It is considered chronic when the virus's surface antigen is still detectable after six months. In an adult with normal defenses the opposite is the rule: the body clears the virus on its own.
In brief
Hepatitis B virus causes a potentially fatal liver infection and is usually transmitted through body fluids: blood, semen, vaginal secretions.
The liver damage is mostly immune mediated: viral proteins on the cell membrane promote the destruction of infected cells by T lymphocytes.
Infected cells end up marked on the outside, and the immune system goes after that mark.
It is called chronic when surface antigen persists beyond six months; immunocompetent adults usually clear the virus.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHepatitis B, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated