Will it be safe to have unprotected sex with my wife?

[cougaruda]

Hi,
I was recently diagnosed with chronic hep b. Right after I found out, I had my wife tested and these were her results: Hbsag neg, anti Hbs neg, anti Hbc pos. While waiting for results we were so worried that she went and got vaccinated anyways.
My first question: can anybody explain what her results mean? Does it mean that she recently contracted the virus from me but her body was able to fight it off? Why is antiHbs negative?
Secondly, will I ever be able to have unprotected sex with my wife? Or will I have to use protection for the rest of my life? Will we be able to have children again?
Thanks for the help.

[columpaka]

what caution? canyou explain?

[cajim]

My first question: can anybody explain what her results mean?

--No HBV, no immunity either.

Does it mean that she recently contracted the virus from me but her body was able to fight it off?

--No.

Why is antiHbs negative?

--Different possibilities.

Secondly, will I ever be able to have unprotected sex with my wife?

--Yes when she is immune, i.e. HBsAB+.

Or will I have to use protection for the rest of my life?

--Depends on her HBsAB.

Will we be able to have children again?

--Yes, with cautions.

[Sharp7]

I'm sorry if I sound alarmist, but reading http://www.ikp.unibe.ch/lab2/antihbc.htm gives me the impression that you should avoid unprotected sex with her until you *both* do quite a few more tests.

[Sharp7]

Your wife needs to get some more tests done. This document talks about cases where just anti HBc is detected: http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/12/1255.pdf

I quote:
The clinical significance of  “anti-HBc alone” is greatly
unknown. Longitudinal studies to explore the long-term
clinical outcome are hardly practicable. We therefore
investigated all individuals found positive for “anti-HBc
alone” in our diagnostic laboratory over a period of  82 mo
in regard to their virological and clinical findings.

People with HBV do have kids, so that is not an issue right now. To start with, I recommend that you read http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/HepB-Introduction--Welcome-Page/show/34?cid=153, and then keep us posted with all the lab results. I hope you are willing to read a lot; that is one way most of us have found to stay on top of the situation. This is especially important in your wife's case.