Hepatitis B vaccines given at birth have essentially eliminated the disease in kids. A vote this week could upend that success.

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.

After a contentious discussion, the vaccine advisory group pushed the vote to Friday to give members time to study the language of proposed changes longstanding policy on the shots.

Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may vote this week to make a major change to the childhood vaccine schedule, potentially delaying a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine given to newborns by weeks or even years.

Decades after HBV infection, patients can develop liver failure and require a liver transplant. Because there is no cure for HBV infections, patients often have recurrent liver disease after a transplant.