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Suggest Methods For Diagnosis Of Hepatitis B Virus Infection

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Posted on Sat, 13 Jun 2015
Question: are there any tests for Hep B other than indications from SGOT and SGPT?
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (13 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Yes

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

hepatitis B can be diagnosed by detecting certain antigens and antibodies in the blood. I'll mention them right away:
- HBsAg: this is the surface (s) antigen (Ag) of the hepatitis B (HB) virus. If it is present, then HB infection has occurred at some time (we can't determine when). If it stays positive for more than 6 months then chronic hepatitis is the diagnosis.
- AntiHBs: this is the antibody to HBsAg. If the HBsAg and every other HB marker is negative and antiHBs is positive then this is the result of vaccination. Otherwise it also means infection.
- AntiHBc: this is the antibody to the core (c) antigen. There are two types IgM and IgG. IgG signifies and old infection. IgM a recent one.
- HBeAg: this is e antigen. It signifies increased infectivity.
- AntiHBe: appears when the HBeAg is cleared and signifies reduced infectivity.

There is also the HBV-DNA test that detects the number of viruses in a sample of blood.

I hope I've helped!
Contact me again for any clarifications you might need.

Kind Regards!
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3814 Questions

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Suggest Methods For Diagnosis Of Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Brief Answer: Yes Detailed Answer: Hello, hepatitis B can be diagnosed by detecting certain antigens and antibodies in the blood. I'll mention them right away: - HBsAg: this is the surface (s) antigen (Ag) of the hepatitis B (HB) virus. If it is present, then HB infection has occurred at some time (we can't determine when). If it stays positive for more than 6 months then chronic hepatitis is the diagnosis. - AntiHBs: this is the antibody to HBsAg. If the HBsAg and every other HB marker is negative and antiHBs is positive then this is the result of vaccination. Otherwise it also means infection. - AntiHBc: this is the antibody to the core (c) antigen. There are two types IgM and IgG. IgG signifies and old infection. IgM a recent one. - HBeAg: this is e antigen. It signifies increased infectivity. - AntiHBe: appears when the HBeAg is cleared and signifies reduced infectivity. There is also the HBV-DNA test that detects the number of viruses in a sample of blood. I hope I've helped! Contact me again for any clarifications you might need. Kind Regards!