Hepatitis B

Bronx

• BronxCare Health System Family Wellness Center
  718-901-8240 or 718-496-1371
  1276 Fulton Avenue
• Montefiore Medical Center
  347-899-5446
  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
• Charles B Wang Community Health Center — Manhattan
  (212) 379-6996
  268 Canal Street
• Korean Community Services
  212-463-9685
  2 West 32nd Street, Suite 604
• NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue Hepatitis Clinic
  212-562-8484 and 212-256-2339
  462 First Avenue

Queens

• Charles B Wang Community Health Center — Flushing
  718-886-1200
  136-26 37th Avenue, Flushing
• Korean Community Services
  212-463-9685
  203-05 32nd Avenue
• NYC Health+Hospitals/Elmhurst
  (718) 396-6957
  79-01 Broadway

Staten Island

• Sunriver Health
  855-681-8700
  57 Bay Street

The best way to prevent hepatitis B is to get vaccinated. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective, including for pregnant people. The hepatitis B vaccine is required for children entering child care and school in NYC.

The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for:

• All infants within 24 hours after birth
• All children and adults under 59 years of age
• Adults 60 years of age and older with risk factors for hepatitis B or who want hepatitis B protection

To get vaccinated, talk to your health care provider, make an appointment at the NYC Health Department immunization clinic, call 311 or visit the NYC Health Map to find a hepatitis B vaccination location near you.

If you or someone you know was recently exposed to hepatitis B, call your health care provider right away or go to a local emergency room to ask about hepatitis B PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis).

Anyone who is not immune can get hepatitis B.

All adults ages 18 years and older should be tested for hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime. Infants born to people with hepatitis B should be tested for hepatitis B at 9 months of age after receiving 3 doses of the hepatitis B vaccine.

People who were born or whose parents were born in an area where hepatitis B is common should be tested for hepatitis B once.

People who should be tested for hepatitis B more often include:

• Pregnant people, during each pregnancy
• People with HIV, hepatitis C, or liver damage, or who are on dialysis
• People with a sexual partner (or partners) with hepatitis B
• Men who have sex with men, and transgender people who have sex with men
• People who live with someone with hepatitis B
• People who use or inject drugs or have shared any drug use equipment, even once
• People who work in health care or public safety and may be exposed to blood or body fluids

Talk to your health care provider, call 311 or visit the NYC Health Map to find a hepatitis B testing location near you.

People with hepatitis B can live a long and healthy life. Here are a few ways to protect your health:

• Get into care with a health care provider who is experienced in managing and treating hepatitis B, even if you do not feel sick. Regular monitoring, with blood tests and ultrasounds, is important for staying healthy with hepatitis B. Find a hepatitis B health care provider near you.
• Consult your health care provider before taking vitamins, supplements, home remedies, or over-the-counter medicines. Some of these products can harm your liver or make hepatitis B worse.
• Avoid passing hepatitis B to others by making sure no one comes in contact with your blood, semen, or vaginal fluid.
• Avoid alcohol and manage chronic diseases. Excessive alcohol use, diabetes, and obesity can cause fatty liver disease, which can make hepatitis B worse. Ask your health care provider how to prevent fatty liver and manage chronic diseases.
• Get vaccinated for hepatitis A and tested for hepatitis C. Search the NYC Health Map for locations near you.

Living with hepatitis B can be confusing and stressful but support is available. Hepatitis B Foundation has two storytelling projects where people can share their stories in short videos: #justB and B the Voice.

If you have hepatitis B, you can pass it to others. To prevent the spread of hepatitis B, encourage your close contacts to get tested and vaccinated for hepatitis B. This includes people in your household, sexual partners, and people with whom you share needles, medical, or injection equipment.

Here are a few ways to protect others from hepatitis B:

• Do not share or reuse medical equipment. Only use new or sterile equipment for acupuncture, tattooing, or injections (for example, needles for insulin, steroids, or medicine).
• Do not share personal care items such as needles, razors, toothbrushes, or any other item that may have touched blood, semen, or vaginal fluids.
• Do not share or reuse drug use supplies. Only use new or sterile equipment or works such as needles, syringes, cotton, cups, ties, razors, cutters, rinse water, cookers, straws, or pipes.
  • Visit the NYC Health Map to find syringe exchange programs.
  • Learn more about the City’s drug use services to stay safe.
• If you do not know if your sex partner has hepatitis B, or until your partner is fully vaccinated and immune to hepatitis B, use physical barriers such as condoms or dental dams and avoid sharing toys.
• Visit the NYC Health Map to find a free safer sex product distribution site near you.
• If you are pregnant and living with hepatitis B, talk to your health care provider about how to prevent passing hepatitis B to your newborn.

If you have hepatitis B, you should talk to your health care provider about treatment options. They may prescribe a daily medication that will help reduce the levels of virus in your body.

Controlling the virus with medication can help prevent or slow liver damage and disease.

If you need a health care provider, you can find a hepatitis B treatment location near you.

Hepatitis B can be passed from parent to newborn during delivery. In New York State, all pregnant people must be tested for hepatitis B during each pregnancy.

During Pregnancy

If you have hepatitis B and are pregnant, talk to your health care provider about how to prevent passing hepatitis B to your newborn. Ask your health care provider to monitor your hepatitis B and liver health during pregnancy and after delivery. Make sure that all health care providers involved in your delivery know that you have hepatitis B.

Talk with your health care provider about taking hepatitis B medicines if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Do not stop taking your medicines without speaking to your health care provider.

After Delivery

If you have hepatitis B and are pregnant, your newborn must receive one dose of the hepatitis B vaccine (the birth dose) and one dose of the hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) immediately after birth, no later than 12 hours after delivery. Be sure to include this in your birth plan.

Your newborn will need to complete the hepatitis B three-dose vaccination series within the first nine months of life. After completing the hepatitis B vaccination series, your newborn must be tested for hepatitis B to determine whether they have developed immunity against the virus. The test should be performed at nine to 12 months of age. Talk to your health care provider to make sure the hepatitis B vaccination series and testing are completed on time. Learn more about protecting your newborn with the hepatitis B vaccine.

Hepatitis B is not spread through breast milk. Breastfeeding is safe but precautions are needed if nipples are cracked or bleeding, as hepatitis B is spread through blood. Contact your health care provider if you experience pain during feeding or notice blood around the nipple. Ask for lactation support for additional help with feeding your newborn.

If your child has hepatitis B, it is important that they receive care from a health care provider experienced in taking care of children with hepatitis B. Talk to your child’s health care provider, call 311 or visit the NYC Health Map to find a hepatitis B health care provider near you.

If your child has hepatitis B, you are not required to tell teachers, child care providers, other children or their parents. Hepatitis B is not spread through sneezing, coughing, hugging, or sharing food or water.