How hepatitis B affects your liver

Chronic infection can lead to serious liver damage over time in some people.

When you are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the virus travels in your blood to your liver.

Once inside your liver, the virus enters healthy liver cells and becomes part of the cell. It also multiplies, making new copies of itself that then spread the virus to more liver cells.

As your body's immune (or defense) system fights the hepatitis B virus, it also kills the infected liver cells at the same time. If enough liver cells are killed, this can eventually lead to liver damage, which can cause your liver to not work as well as it should.

What you can do to reduce liver damage

It's important to visit your doctor regularly to help monitor your condition and the amount of liver damage. When liver damage is caught early, there are treatments that may help to reduce liver damage. If treatment is successful, your liver may improve and may actually start healing itself.

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