Infected/ duration affected.

[geronimoxx]

Hi, my girlfriend was tested with following results(futher testing on the way);

HBsAg pos
anti-HBsAg neg
HBcore Ig pos
HBe neg
HBe Ig pos

We have been together for 7 years, what are the odds i am infected. Does this mean she has been infected for a long time or is it something recent ? today we both had bloodsamples taken for further analysis.

Thx

[geronimoxx]

Thx for the info, today hopefully a surgeon will call. I would like to know if its a recent infection. Lady is from Poland, they had different health standards during communism. Ill let you know. Also not every hospital/ med institution uses exact same terminology.

[lila58]

I can speak only from my own exp.,in the country where I lived before 1990.The hepb was very much spread because of poor condition of health care( no drugs that time).I believe there are more people infected as adults and remained chronic,just my own opinion.

[StephenCastlecrag]

Hepatitis B is classified as a sexually transmitted disease. So it is possible to get infected, even though  95% of infected adults will be able to clear the virus. My thinking is that an adult is more likely to be infected and becomes chronic if :
1. the sexual partner has a high viral load;
2. if infection is by needle sharing or blood transfusion;
3. blood to blood contact with a person with high viral load.

These are just my own theories with no clinical evidence.

[stef2011]

hbv is a benigne disease on adults, it has no symptoms in most of the cases and is cleared 99% if immune system is not suppressed

it is said about 95% adults clear hbv but the percentage is higher because there are no studies on this since almost no adults which develop cronic hbv are found

so your girfriend has got it at birth or very young, in this case our immune system is not strong and formed yet and cronicity is the opposite, 95% get cronic

to know if she has cronic sinc ebirth or since early childhood you have to check hbcab igm, if negative it is cronic

the tests to monitor cronic hbv status are (in order of importance):
fibroscan, to see if there is liver damage (hbv itself makes no damage, it is our immune system to make the damage if it can detect the virus), most cronic hbv carriers have no damage about 10% develop damage in a lifetime

hbsag quantity in iu/ml, abbott architect machine or roches hbsag quant.no others

hbvdna pcr, no spesific meaning but useful with other tests

ast alt