Hepatitis B

Fact sheet - Health conditions directory.

Hepatitis B is an infection caused by the hepatitis B virus which inflames the liver. Hepatitis B is one of the most serious types of hepatitis. The virus can cause either acute (short-lived) or chronic (long term) liver disease. The disease can affect babies, children and adults.

• Read Queensland Health guidelines for public health units
• Read Communicable Diseases Network Australia Guidelines

Notification

Pathology laboratories

• Notification criteria for pathology laboratories (PDF, 55kB)
• Notification procedure

Notification resources

• List of all Pathological, clinical and provisional diagnosis notifiable conditions
• List of Public Health Unit contacts
• Notifiable conditions report form for Queensland doctors/clinicians (PHA S70) or person in charge of a Hospital (PHA S71) (PDF, 77kB) - if faxing notification, follow up by phone.

Enhanced surveillance for public health units

• Case report form (acute) (PDF, 313kB) - used by public health units to collect and manage more detailed information for enhanced case surveillance.

• Australian STI management guidelines - an online resource for primary care health professionals which provide concise information to support the prevention, testing, diagnosis, management and treatment of STIs.

• Management of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids (PDF, 247kB) -  this guideline provides the minimum recommended procedures for the immediate assessment, management and follow-up of individuals who have been exposed (or suspect they have been exposed) to blood borne viruses (BBV), and recommendations for initiation of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in occupational settings.

Immunisation

• Australian immunisation handbook - clinical guidelines for health professionals on the safest and most effective use of vaccines in their practice.

Related information

• Accidental needle stick injury in public places - Queensland Health fact sheet for the public.
• Post-exposure prophylaxis – Queensland Health fact sheet for the general public.
• Contact tracing - information and resources for health professionals.

• View communicable diseases data for notifiable conditions in Queensland and blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections surveillance reports.
• The Kirby Institute usually reports annually on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia. The data, including full data tables and charts as well as additional information, can be found on the Kirby Institute's data site. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, data has been compiled into a national summary for 2009-2018.