Hepatitis B

Bronx

• BronxCare Health System Family Wellness Center
  (347) 326-2075
  1281 Franklin Avenue
• Montefiore Medical Center
  (718) 920-4410
  111 East 210th Street

Brooklyn

• Seventh Avenue Family Health Center at NYU Langone*
  (718) 210-1030
  5008 7th Avenue

Manhattan

• African Services Committee*
  (212) 222-3882
  429 West 127th Street, 2nd Floor
• Apicha Community Health Center*
  (212) 334-6029
  400 Broadway
• Charles B Wang Community Health Center — Manhattan*
  (212) 379-6996
  268 Canal Street
• H+H Bellevue Hospital Center — Hepatitis Clinic*
  (212) 562-8484 and (212) 256-2339
  462 First Avenue
• Korean Community Services*
  (718) 791-2197
  2 West 32nd Street, Suite 604

Queens

• Charles B Wang Community Health Center — Flushing
  (718) 886-1200
  136-26 37th Avenue, Flushing
• H+H Elmhurst Hospital Center*
  (718) 396-6957
  79-01 Broadway
• Korean Community Services*
  (718) 791-219-2197
  203-05 32nd Avenue

Staten Island

• Brightpoint Health*
  (855) 681-8700
  57 Bay Street
• Community Health Action of Staten Island
  (718) 737-7516
  56 Bay St, Staten Island

*Offers free or low-cost testing services

The best way to avoid hepatitis B is to get vaccinated. The hepatitis B vaccine series is recommended for all infants starting at birth. The vaccine is required for children entering school in the city.

Some adults are at risk for getting hepatitis B. It is especially important to get vaccinated if:

• You live with someone with hepatitis B
• You inject drugs
• You work in health care, public safety or a long-term care facility and are exposed to blood or body fluids
• You have had sexual contact (oral, vaginal or anal) with a person who has hepatitis B
• You are a man who has sex with man
• You have multiple sex partners
• You are on dialysis
• You are traveling to a country where hepatitis B is common

To learn how and where to get tested or vaccinated for hepatitis B:

• Ask your doctor
• Search the NYC Health Map for facilities near you
• Visit an NYC Health walk-in immunization clinic

If you think you have been recently exposed to hepatitis B, you can get a shot that can prevent infection. For more information, talk to your doctor or go to a local emergency room.

There are two phases of a hepatitis B infection:

• Acute hepatitis B is a new infection. Most healthy adults will not display any symptoms and will be rid of the infection within six months. If your body successfully fights off hepatitis B, you will become immune for life.
• Chronic hepatitis B is a lifelong infection. Children and people with weakened immune systems are most likely to develop a chronic infection. This is why it is required by law for pregnant women to get tested, so their infants can receive preventative care and vaccination starting just after birth.

Chronic hepatitis B can cause permanent damage to the liver, leading to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.

You can help manage this disease by keeping your liver healthy. You should avoid alcohol and maintain a healthy diet and body weight.

You can prevent passing along hepatitis B by making sure other people do not come into contact with your blood or sexual fluids. Cover any cut in your skin and do not share personal items, such as toothbrushes, razors or sex toys. Do not share needles or other medical or injection supplies. Use condoms when you have sex.

If you are living with chronic hepatitis B, you should talk to your doctor about treatment options. They may prescribe an anti-viral pill for you to take regularly that can slow the progression of liver disease.

You can find low-cost care and treatment for hepatitis B using our NYC Health Map.