catching hbv

Question

Hey all, I am a little confused. My husband of 12 years has just been told that he has chronic hbv. We have read and read on this disease. I know that tatoos, sex, blood transfusions, needles are all ways to contract this. He doesnt have tattoos,he is faithful, never been given blood and he does not do drugs. So where ealse could this have come from? The city has flooded our basement with sewage a few times now. Is it possible that he came in contact with it like that? 


                            TTAR

Jimmy1971 · Answer

I guess ur hubby got it many years ago. if feel there is no connection between the flood and catching hep b.

TTAR · Answer

ok my brain is turning into mush here lol i dont know why i said white blood cell count, it was his anti body level that was 3.3

shawn_hsp · Answer

transfer through a razor or toothbrush is only about 8% chance according to the recent studies... also not just those you mentioned, pathologists did find traces of hep b virus in saliva... so it can be easily transmitted, a tiny drop of blood or spitting saliva into food you are eat meaning you are in danger...

Jimmy1971 · Answer

well no one os safe unless you are vaccinated. i wish i was educated about this nasty virus before. never heard of it until i got it. 

TTAR, has your husband ever expereiced symptopms of the hep b? if not probably you got many years ago. if he is inactive carrier then he should be alright.

TTAR · Answer

He has been sick but we didnt know that it was hep. He got extremely sick about a month after the house flooded. The doctor treated him for the flu and said he had pneumonia. He had a large lum come up on his lower back after being in the waste. We thought that maybe he had pulled a musle moving furniture out. It was about the size of your fist. He tested positive and if I am saying this correctly his white blood sell count was at a level 3, they tested him again 6 weeks later and it was at a 3.3  Im not sure what that means but I know it needed to be above a 10 to be good. When we went for the second test we hoped that this had been some awful mistake. I guess most people do. Anyway the doc said it looked like chronic hep b and he did more lab work. We go back tomorrow.

cuteus · Answer

in the ACUTE stages, hep b is more easily transmitted via fluids, not just blood.  No matter how he got it now, he needs to see a hepatologist for a plan of action.

desrt · Answer

I discussed this one time with a gastro doc, and he told me the old ideas of hepatitis A being strictly 'infectious' and hepatitis B being strictly 'serum' weren't absolutes since there had been cases of both being spread both ways.

jboyhk · Answer

Many of us have no idea.

With HepB, there could have been many sources such as shared vaccination needles in school or a shared razor/toothbrush or at a dentist's office. The possibilities are endless even if you don't engage in 'risky' behavior.

catching hbv

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