Hepatitis B often causes no symptoms for years but can silently lead to liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer if left undetected. Doctors stress that routine screening during pregnancy, timely newborn vaccination and early testing of high-risk individuals are the most effective ways to prevent infection and its complications. Babies infected at birth have a high risk of developing chronic hepatitis B, making the birth-dose vaccine and, when needed, hepatitis B immunoglobulin especially important. Experts also highlight that the hepatitis B vaccine is one of the few vaccines that can help prevent cancer, underscoring the importance of improving awareness, vaccination coverage and early diagnosis.
Read more at Firstpost