What happens if hbsag is positive

Am Fam Physician. Screening for hepatitis b virus infection in pregnant women: recommendation statement. Hepatitis B Foundation. Hepatitis B blood tests. Cleveland Clinic. Published July 9, Hepatitis B FAQs for health professionals. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Screening Tests. How Hepatitis B Is Transmitted. Is hepatitis B curable?

Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.

Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles.

Symptoms of Hepatitis D. What Is Hepatitis D? Urine or Swab Tests. Meanwhile, new HBV infection in a pregnant woman might result in severe disease for the mother and chronic infection for the newborn. Pregnant women who are identified as being at risk for HBV infection during pregnancy should be vaccinated and counseled concerning other methods to prevent HBV infection. Pregnant women may be at increased risk for hepatitis B if they. A pregnancy exposure registry external icon is a study that collects health information from women who take prescription medicines or vaccines when they are pregnant.

A larger vaccine dose is required to induce protective antibody in hemodialysis patients, and larger or additional doses might also be necessary for other immunocompromised people.

Serologic testing of hemodialysis patients and other immunocompromised people is recommended 1—2 months after administration of the final dose of the primary vaccine series to determine the need for revaccination. Detailed guidance on vaccination of hemodialysis patients and other immunocompromised people is available from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations on adult hepatitis B vaccination pdf icon [40 pages]. After a person has been exposed to HBV, appropriate prophylaxis, given as soon as possible but preferably within 24 hours, can effectively prevent infection.

The mainstay of postexposure immunoprophylaxis is hepatitis B vaccine, but, in certain circumstances, the addition of HBIG provides increased protection 20 , See Who should be screened for HBV? The first vaccine dose should be administered immediately after collection of the blood sample for serologic testing. Vaccinating people who are immune to HBV infection because of current or previous infection or vaccination is not harmful and does not increase the risk for adverse events.

For people determined to be HBsAg negative, no further action is required. People with positive HBsAg should be referred to a specialist in the management of hepatitis B infection and receive further serologic evaluation, prevention counseling, and evaluation for antiviral treatment see Management of HBsAg-Positive Persons.

People who have already been infected with HBV will receive no benefit from vaccination. Vaccinating someone who is already infected poses no risk to the patient. Testing for immunity is advised only for people whose subsequent clinical management depends on knowledge of their immune status, including. Testing should not be performed before age 9 months in order to avoid detection of anti-HBs from hepatitis B immune globulin HBIG administered during infancy and to avoid detection of HBsAg from vaccine HBsAg can be transiently positive for 1—18 days after vaccination.

Testing at 9 months or later also maximizes detection of late HBV infection. Following vaccination, anti-HBs levels decline over time. Booster doses are not recommended for people with normal immune status who have been vaccinated 16 , Only certain people should receive a booster dose in specific situations.

For other immunocompromised people including those with HIV, hematopoietic stem-cell transplant recipients, and people receiving chemotherapy , the need for booster doses has not been determined. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.

Viral Hepatitis. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. Overview and Statistics. What are the case definitions for reportable HBV infections? How many deaths can be attributed to chronic HBV infection? Transmission, Symptoms, and Treatment.

How is HBV transmitted? How long does HBV survive outside the body? What should be used to clean environmental surfaces potentially contaminated with HBV? Who is at risk for HBV infection? Who should be screened for HBV? Are international travelers at risk for HBV infection? What are the signs and symptoms of HBV infection? What is the incubation period for hepatitis B? When symptoms of acute hepatitis B occur, how long do they usually last? How serious is acute HBV infection?

How serious is chronic HBV infection? How likely is HBV infection to become chronic? What tests are used to identify patients with hepatitis B? Where can I learn more about HBV serology? How is HBV infection treated? What is HBV reactivation? Who is at greatest risk for HBV reactivation?

Hepatitis B Vaccination. Who should be vaccinated against hepatitis B? Is hepatitis B vaccination recommended in certain settings? What are the hepatitis B vaccines licensed for use in the United States? What are the recommended schedules for hepatitis B vaccination? What are the recommended dosages of hepatitis B vaccines?

Who should not receive hepatitis B vaccine? Can a patient receive the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine from one manufacturer and subsequent doses from another manufacturer? Error Include a valid email address. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information.

If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. Your in-depth digestive health guide will be in your inbox shortly.

You will also receive emails from Mayo Clinic on the latest health news, research, and care. The virus is passed from person to person through blood, semen or other body fluids. It does not spread by sneezing or coughing. The younger you are when you get hepatitis B — particularly newborns or children younger than 5 — the higher your risk of the infection becoming chronic. Chronic infection may go undetected for decades until a person becomes seriously ill from liver disease.

Hepatitis B spreads through contact with blood, semen or other body fluids from an infected person. Your risk of hepatitis B infection increases if you:.

Having a chronic HBV infection can lead to serious complications, such as:. The hepatitis B vaccine is typically given as three or four injections over six months.

You can't get hepatitis B from the vaccine. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Email address. First Name let us know your preferred name.