@ThomasTu
Pls I would like to know whether an hbv+ man can get married to an hbv+ woman. Won’t it increase their viral load or cause more problems?
Secondly, is it possible for an hbv+ pregnant woman to develop antibodies during the pregnancy?
Lastly, can an hbv+ person develop antibodies upon receiving vaccine? Your reply will be appreciated.
Dear @Cleverpet,
There should be no issues with 2 HBV+ people marrying. The virus has already established itself in both livers and is at whatever that person’s balance point is between immune control and virus replication. Regardless, each person should follow their doctor’s advice regarding monitoring and antiviral treatment. The treatment and monitoring recommendations may be different for the 2 people because the treatment guidelines depend on variables such as viral DNA level and evidence of ongoing liver damage, and those things often vary greatly between 2 HBV+ people.
I do not know if HBV+ women can develop anti-HBV antibodies (presumably anti-HBs) as a result of the immunological alterations to her body during pregnancy. However, I’ve never heard of this. Others may know more.
HBV+ people don’t respond to the vaccine because their immune systems have already been altered by the virus to have reduced responses to the virus. This is not a general immunosuppression, but specific for HBV. In the case of HBs (the antigen in the vaccine): An HBV+ person makes a lot of it all the time. This “tolerizes” the immune system to HBs (that means it causes the immune system to ignore the HBs). Consequently, adding a very small amount more HBs by vaccinating has no effect.
I hope this helps.
John