Hep B is extremely contagious and can live in the environment and remain viable on surfaces for at least ____ days.

• A. 7
• B. 3
• C. 14
• D. 21

Answer: (A)

Hepatitis B virus is unusually hardy in the environment and can stay infectious on dry surfaces for a prolonged period. The commonly cited minimum is seven days, so surfaces that may be contaminated can still transmit infection for about a week. This makes strict infection-control practices essential: treat unknown surfaces as potentially contaminated, clean with disinfectants proven effective against HBV, and perform thorough hand hygiene after contact with any patient-area surfaces. The other options don’t reflect the documented persistence: three days is shorter than the known viability, while fourteen or twenty-one days exceed the typical minimum period and aren’t the standard figure used to guide precautions.