FACT CHECK: Is Hepatitis B Curable?
The disease is not curable, according to the Mayo Clinic and the Hepatitis B Foundation.
Hepatitis B is a viral infection that mainly attacks liver functions and can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is primarily spread from mother to child at birth, the organization explains.
A post shared on Facebook claims the infection is curable. “Hepatitis B is 100 percent curable do not b (sic) deceived,” reads the June 30 post. (RELATED: No, Drinking Magnesium Citrate Cannot Prevent Or Cure Coronavirus)
The claim is baseless. Although a vaccine can prevent the infection, there is no cure for hepatitis B, according to Mayo Clinic. The Hepatitis B Foundation also states on its website that there is no cure but notes there are approved therapies to help manage the virus.
“This claim is false,” Chari Cohen, president of the Hepatitis B. Foundation, said in an email to Check Your Fact. “While there are good treatments that can slow down viral replication and reduce the chance of liver damage and liver cancer, there is no cure yet for hepatitis B.”
Cohen added that there are currently dozens of scientists around the world researching a cure and that he is optimistic one will be discovered.
This is not the first time health-based misinformation has circulated on social media. Check Your Fact previously debunked an image that claimed to show Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, when in reality it showed him receiving a hepatitis A booster shot.
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