Hepatitis B vaccination for travel

[tigger2x]

Hello,

I am desperate for an answer.
I am Korean woman in her mid-twenties, very healthy and active.
I recently got tested for Hepatitis B since I will be traveling to Mongolia for the summer.

The test results came back with Hepatitis B surface antigen being positive, and the antibody being negative.
I keep getting conflicting information regarding vaccination at this point, some people telling me that I need to get the vaccination and some people telling me that I don't need to bother with it.
One thing that I think I should mention, is that I got the same test in 2000 (I suspected my roommate was a carrier), and I got the same results as the recent test: the surface antigen was positive.

Should I get the vaccine? And if I do, how would that affect the antigen? The travel nurse mentioned that the antigen can also disappear with time. If I get the vaccine, is there a chance that the antigen will disappear leaving only the antibody?

Thank you so much for your response in advance.
Desperately seeking for an answer.

[desrt]

If you go to:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_B

there is a great chart about half way down the page under "Diagnosis' that explains the three different antibodies and three different antigens.

jboyhk could answer your questions neatly and succinctly - I'd probably just mess it up.

[Bill1954]

I just wanted to add a link for your review. Go to:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/faqb.htm

and scroll toward the bottom of the page, to the section entitled “serology”. This page is provided by the U.S. Center for Disease Control, and is useful for interpreting HBV lab values as well.

Good luck with your decision,

Bill

[GrandmaA]

It takes 3 months to get vacinated for hep. B. It's a series of shots. They must be done on a certain day. My first series didn't take. I had to do them all over again.

[stevenNYer]

If your HepB surface antigen is positive and HepB surface antibody is negative, then that means you have HepB.  Given that past test gave you the same result, you are probably a chronic HepB carrier, and such persons feel perfectly healthy and symptoms-free.  But that doesn't mean that the HepB virus is not doing damage.  It is or it will do damage, it's just a slow moving disease.  You need regular monitoring for your condition.  Ask your doctor to test for your ALT/AST, e-antigen / e-antibody, and viral DNA level to get a clearer picture and ask your doctor to explain these things to you.

As for your vaccination question, it's not going to matter at this point.  Post infection HepB vaccination won't work, it won't get rid of the virus.

Take care of yourself and liver.  Also very important, NO alcohol and NO smoking.