Hepatitis B is a contagious virus that affects the liver, infection can last from a few weeks to a serious lifelong illness. Two different types of infection exist for this disease, "acute" and "chronic." Acute Hepatitis B is a short term illness that occurs within 6 months of exposure, Chronic Hepatitis B is long term and happens when the virus remains in the body. The younger the child is, the greater their chance of developing a chronic infection and this risk goes down as the child gets older. Approximately 90% of infected infants will develop a chronic infection.[3]
A big family photo of the Smith's kids happened last week. The youngest is Tim, who is 1. Sarah is only 2 years old. Bob is a little older at 3 years old. Jessica is 4 years old. John is 5 years old. Amy is 6 years old. The oldest child is Frank, who is 7 years old. They all had the biggest smiles.
Who has a greater chance of developing a chronic infection: Amy or Sarah?