Tag: Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. Without proper care, hepatitis B can lead to serious health problems like liver failure, liver cancer and early death. In 2025, the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL) and the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada (AMMI) released new guidelines for the management of chronic hepatitis B. Madison Kennedy, CATIE’s knowledge specialist in hepatitis, spoke with Dr. Hin Hin Ko, Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of British Columbia and member of the chronic hepatitis B guideline committee, to understand how these guidelines...

Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which can result in either acute or chronic infection. Most HBV infections are transmitted from mother to child at birth, shortly after birth, or during early childhood. Research shows that infections in babies and young children are more likely to become long-term, so vaccination at birth is crucial to prevent transmission. Other modes of transmission include exposure to infected body fluids like blood, saliva, vaginal fluids and semen. The main transmission routes include injection drug use, vaginal, anal and oral sex, being born to a mother with...

When you think of hepatitis B, what comes to mind? An infection you can acquire while travelling? A virus that can be passed through sex or sharing needles? An infection that is mostly preventable with a two-dose vaccine? While all of these are true, the epidemiological realities of hepatitis B in Canada are changing. More and more Canadians with hepatitis B are immigrants and newcomers from countries where hepatitis B is endemic, and where transmission mostly occurs during pregnancy and childbirth. A recent study from the University of Waterloo suggests that under current strategies for diagnosis, vaccination and treatment, Canada...