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Hepatitis B anti HBs

I had jaundice and tested positive for hbsAg. LFT was abnormal.. All enzymes were above 2000. After 1 month enzyme level improved but slightly raised. And after 3 months from the symptoms lft is normal and PT /INR normal, CBC normal..tested for Anti Hbs titre which is 5 IU. What is the interpretation? I am recovering or not?
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Avatar universal
It seems you have an acute HBV infection. Please test again your HBV serology after 3 months (6 months from appearance of symptoms). Hopefully, you would have recovered(as most adults do) from the acute HBV infection and not become chronic. All the best.
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Thanks.. What does 5 IU indicates? Whether its low antibody response or total negative
The unit for Anti Hbs titre is IU/L. A value > 10 iu/l is considered protective. So 5 IU/L means you have some HBsAg antibodies, but not considered to be enough to protect you from Hepatitis B infection. Hopefully, by the time you tested again, if will be > 10 IU/L and HBsAg is negative.
Thank you..
Whether this disease spread via touch?
Thanks for the reply.. Do i need to take antiviral or wait for another 3 months?
Hepatitis B cannot spread by touch as the virus lives in the blood of the infected. The virus cannot enter the bloodstream of an uninfected person because the skin is a barrier to the virus. So HBV is transmitted mainly through blood to blood contact , for example, minute amount of blood left on a razor used by an infected person, then the same razor is used by an uninfected person.
Generally, I believe anti-virals are not used in an acute infection. You would need to consult your doctor. Over 90% of adult HBV infections are resolved by themselves without any treatment. The best way to tell whether an infection is not chronic is to test the HBsAg after 6 months. If HbsAg is still positive after 6 months, then most likely the HBV is chronic (if can take up to year to resolve in rare cases), whether treatment is then needed depends on many factors, such as viral load(hbvdna) and ALT.
Thanks for the reply!!
Hello there is a news to share. Yesterday i got myself tested for HbsAg, it came out non reactive. I was surprised and ecstatic.. Today i again i got tested for reconfirmation, its non reactive again... Waiting for my quantitative DNA result..Also as my antihbs titre is 5 IU.. I want to ask, infection is resolved and i am immune or should i wait for anti hbs to rise or i should take a booster vaccine to increase titre?
Very good news. Personally, I don't think it is necessary to get a booster vaccine. Just remember, if you get the HBV vaccine, which is just HBsAg, then you should not test your HBsAg within two weeks of the injection as it may give you a false positive.
Thanks for your reply!!!
Hey, I got my PCR quantitative DNA report, its not detectable now.. Am i fully cured now??
Avatar universal
The answer is yes and no. You have resolved your HBV infection and is no longer considered as infected with Hepatitis B. You will find your HBcAb will test positive. You are like the estimated over two billion people who were exposed to HBV and resolved the infection. But recent discovery indicated that your liver still has some cccDNA that will still produce some HBV virus, however, the virus is controlled by your immune system, resulting in HbsAg negative and hbvdna undetectable. Should you in the future require medical treatments that weaken your immune system, such as cancer chemotherapy, anti-inflammation treatment for arthritis, then there is a chance that your HBV will re-activate. Nowadays, doctors are very well aware of this possible re-activation in HBcAb positive patients and will prescribe HBV antiviral treatment beforehand.
Helpful - 0
5 Comments
Hi Stephen just out of curiosity do you or have you ever had hep b? Or is it people you know who have hep b  ?
Hello Stephen, i got tested again and it is non reactive and DNA is also not detected and anti Hbs is 7.5 IU. Its been now a month since detected negative, i am just wondering can i be sexually active again as i am looking to start a family?
Congratulations
I too wish to congratulate you for recovering from your acute Hepatitis B infection.
The decision is yours completely. Personally, I have no medical concerns regarding resuming sexual activity. Anecdotally, very few adults become chronic HBV from their chronic HBV partners. In your case, you are no longer considered to be infected.

There are medical advice that all adults should be vaccinated against HBV.
Hi Stephen just out of curiosity do you or have you ever had hep b? Or is it people you know who have hep b  ?
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