Is it legally and morally right NOT to disclose Hep B status to sexual partner when you already achieved functional cure? What is the chance to transmit the virus (person with Hep B achieved functional cure) via penetrative and oral sex?
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@Kr2025 Dear Kr2025, If you are HBsAg-negative and your HBV DNA is undetectable, and if the sexual partner has antibody, the risk of sexual transmission is relatively low. but the partner should have the antibody levels checked periodically to make sure it still present. For the sake of protecting your partner’s safety, taking appropriate precautions is of course the best approach. As for legal responsibility, that is a more complicated issue, and perhaps someone with legal expertise can give you a professional answer.
@nicklib Going on the premise you have presented here regarding a negative-HBsAg and undetectable DNA signifying a functional cure, what if a potential partner was never exposed to HBV but is now with a HBV functionally cured person?
Is the potential partner still at risk of possibly contracting HBV from the functionally cured HBV person?
Thanks!
You can’t infect your partner, when you have functional cure for chronic hbv,even if the person has no vaccine..
When you get functional cure the only thing person is the viral gene which is cccdna that is present only in the liver cells..
This just like a person who clear acute hbv, the viral gene is also present in the liver,it doesn’t go away.
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Hi @sloped876 Functional cure usually means that 24 weeks/6 months after stopping treatment, HBsAg stays negative, HBV DNA remains undetectable or below the limit, and liver enzymes ALT/AST are normal. But cccDNA and integrated HBV DNA may still remain in the liver, so it does not mean zero risk.
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Hi @Kr2025,
Great question. A functional cure represents essentially 0 chance of transmission to a partner. Despite HBV DNA still being in the liver, loss of HBsAg (and particularly when there is anti-HBs detected) means that the tiny amount of virus that might be in the blood is likely non-infectious due to being neutralised out by antibody.
This functional cure state is very common across the world (about a third of the world’s population), so it doesn’t really make sense to need to disclose it to anyone in my perspective.
Thomas
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Thank you, Thomas. Really appreciate the prompt response.
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Noo there is no integrated hbv DNA ,when the person is undetectable to hbv DNA.
Hbv DNA is the maker of hbsag, when hbsag is negative means,no hbv DNA,but cccdna is present in the liver cells nucleus,it doesn’t go away.
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Why? Someone on medication (like tenofovir on entecavir) will have undetectable HBV DNA, with positive HBsAg - and plenty of integrated HBV DNA.