Usual symptoms

• Babies or children with hepatitis B infection don’t usually have any symptoms at all.
• Up to 90 per cent of people who get hepatitis B as babies or children develop a chronic (long-term), hidden hepatitis B infection but don’t know it.
• Around 30 to 50 per cent of adults who catch hepatitis B experience fever, nausea, vomiting, tummy pain, fatigue (severe tiredness or loss of energy), muscle aches, jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), their urine (wee) gets very dark, and their poo looks very pale. They can also get a rash and sore, swollen joints. The fatigue can last for many weeks. 
• Around 10 per cent of people who catch hepatitis B as adults develop long-term hepatitis B. 
• Around 25 per cent of people with long-term hepatitis B infections develop liver cancer or cirrhosis (scarring) on their liver that stops the liver from working properly and can lead to death.  
• People who have long-term hepatitis B infections usually don’t know until after their liver is scarred or they get liver cancer.

Rare symptoms

• About 1 per cent of people who catch hepatitis B as adults develop very severe liver disease soon after they catch it.

In Australia, newborns get a hepatitis B vaccine, usually in the hospital. From two months old, children receive a combined vaccine (also called ‘hexavalent’), which strengthens immunity to hepatitis B, as well as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib and polio.

It is recommended that children get a vaccine that protects against hepatitis B at birth, two months, four months and six months.

It is important that children get all their vaccinations on time to ensure they have the best possible protection against infectious diseases.

No, there is no risk that your child will catch hepatitis B because the vaccine does not contain the live virus that causes the disease. Instead, it contains inactive parts of the hepatitis B virus that train your child’s immune system to recognise and fight the infection.

• Up to 33 per cent of children who have vaccines that protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Hib, or polio experience redness at the injection site that lasts up to a few days.
• Up to 20 per cent of children who have vaccines that protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Hib, or polio develop a mild fever that lasts one or two days. 
• About 10 to 13 per cent of people who have vaccines that protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Hib, polio, or hepatitis B experience mild swelling or pain at the injection site that lasts one or two days. 
• About 5 to 10 per cent of babies who have vaccines that protect against polio experience decreased appetite.
• About 2 per cent of people who get booster doses of a vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) get a sore red, swollen arm. The swelling starts in the first two days after vaccination. It lasts for one to seven days and then gets better. 
• About 1 per cent of children who have a vaccine that protects against polio get a hard lump at the injection site that lasts a few days or weeks. 

• Babies who get a fever (for any reason) occasionally experience a fit (febrile convulsion) that lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes. Febrile convulsions don’t have long-term effects on a child’s health and development.
• Some people who get vaccines that protect against hepatitis B experience nausea or aches in their muscles or joints in the days afterwards.
• About 0.0032 per cent of children aged 12 months or under who get a vaccine that protects against pertussis (whooping cough) experience hypotonic-hyporesponsive episodes (HHE). These children get very pale, go limp, and don’t respond to their surroundings. Their lips and fingernails can also turn blue. Most reactions last less than 30 minutes and can occur anytime from vaccination up to about 48 hours after vaccination.² HHEs don’t have any long-term effects on children’s health.
• About 0.0001 per cent of people have an allergic reaction following vaccination that affects their whole body, called anaphylaxis. This reaction usually happens within 15 minutes of getting the vaccination and can be treated by giving an injection of adrenaline. People who have this reaction usually recover quickly and don’t experience any long-term effects.