Hello
Thank you for your query.
As your wife has tested positive for Hepatitis B, she should be referred to a
liver specialist and the following tests should be done :
HBV serology - including HBeAg status
HBV DNA level
Delta virus testing
HCV testing
Lver function tests, including tests of synthetic function (INR)
Liver ultrasound
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide health problem and may cause acute, fulminant,
chronic hepatitis, liver
cirrhosis, or hepatocelullar carcinoma (HCC). Infection with HBV in infancy or early childhood may lead to a high rate of persistent infection (25-90%), while the rates are lower if infection occurs during adulthood (5-10%)
Every newborn born to Hepatitis B positive mother, must be given two shots in the delivery room - the first dose of
hepatitis B vaccine and one dose of hepatitis B immune
globulin (HBIG). If these two medications are given correctly within the first 12 hours of life, a newborn has a 95% chance of being protected against a lifelong hepatitis B infection. The infant will need additional doses of hepatitis B vaccine at one and six months of age to provide complete protection. If a woman knows that she is infected, it is important that she tell her doctor to have these two drugs available when she is ready to deliver. If a baby does not receive these drugs in time, then there is a greater than 90% possibility that he or she will become chronically infected.