When you hear about hepatitis A, you may think of tainted food and water, but this liver infection can also be spread from person to person. The American Liver Foundation estimates that 115,900 new cases of hepatitis A, B, and C occur annually in the ...

A federal vaccine advisory committee this week is expected to discuss whether newborns should still get the hepatitis B vaccine — the first shot found to prevent cancer.

The virus is found in blood, saliva, semen and other bodily fluids, even tears, and it can live on surfaces for up to seven days. A child with a wound who comes into contact with that surface — even days later — could become infected, says Anita Patel, a pediatrician and pediatric critical care physician in Washington, D.C.

The best way to prevent hepatitis B infection is vaccination. The vaccines are highly effective at preventing infection in infants and for long-term protection into adulthood.

A panel of US vaccine advisors will vote Friday on whether to rescind guidance that all newborns should receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

Childhood vaccinations in South Dakota, including for Hepatitis B, have dropped slightly however, as of last school year, remain above 90 percent.