Hepatitis B is transmitted via contact with bodily secretions, including blood, semen, and vaginal secretions, but not through casual contact such as hugging, or kissing, or via tears or sweat, unless there are open sores. Neither Hepatitis B nor Hepatitis C are airborne diseases, so transmission via respiratory secretions is not possible. When infected, patients develop acute hepatitis, which is an inflammation of the liver. Patients can present with fever, jaundice (yellow skin), and right upper quadrant abdominal pain. The vast majority (greater than 95%) of patients infected during adulthood will clear the infection on their own and become immune. Less than 5% go on to have chronic hepatitis, which is, in most cases, incurable but easily treated with available nontoxic therapies. Unfortunately, hepatitis B is most commonly transmitted in the developing world, from mother to child at birth. A much larger percentage of infected babies go on to have chronic hepatitis.
Hepatitis B medical expert witness specialties include infectious disease, pediatric infectious disease, hepatology, hepatobiliary surgery, dentistry, internal medicine, addiction psychiatry, oncology, pediatric oncology, hepatobiliary surgery, bloodbanking, pathology, and pediatric oncology.