(CNN) — A group of independent vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting this week , and a key item on the agenda is the hepatitis B vaccine.

After presentations about the hepatitis B disease and vaccine safety, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, is expected to vote on whether to abandon the universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for infants.

What is hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by a virus.

After an acute hepatitis B infection , many adults clear the virus. But acute infection can lead to chronic hepatitis B, which is linked to increased risk of liver cancer, organ failure and cirrhosis, or scarring over the liver. People with chronic hepatitis B are 70 to 85% more likely to die early.

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