Dear Everich,
Your best protection is vaccination because that is extremely effective in blocking transmission via sex. The published efficacy rates for the vaccine are around 95% for generating sufficient antibodies. Transmission when your HBV antibodies (called anti-HBsAg) from the vaccine are >10 IU/ml is extremely rare. Your medical provider can do a simple blood test to measure your anti-HBsAg antibody levels. Using a condom will further reduce the risk. I hope this helps.
John.
Yes I agree with Thomas and John that you should be vaccinated and this will protect you against infection. For planning pregnancy I support Joan’s detailed action plan. The minimum is for your baby to receive HBV vaccine and HBIG (antibody) as soon as possible after birth, which is very effective at preventing infection in the baby. If your wife has very high levels of virus in the blood then I would also recommend antiviral therapy in the third trimester to further reduce the risk. You should see someone with expertise in this to confirm the best approach for you and your wife.
This is definitely something that can be sorted out and should not put you off having children if that is what you want to do.
Good luck!
Sorry to ask again from here… please what can of test I need to do because I myself is negative while my partner is positive with hepatitis B…so please what can of lab test I need to do so I will be sure that I’m fully protected because we really want to have kids asap
Hi everich,
To find out if you’re protected, you need to test for your hbsab (hepatitis b virus surface antibody) levels. You are protected if they are above 12 units.
If it is below this, you can get another course of vaccinations that can boost your levels.
Cheers,
Thomas
Yes I agree with Thomas that the anti-HBsAb is the key test to check whether you are protected.
We always recommend doing HBsAg and anti-HBcAb initially as well, just to be sure that you don’t already have hepatitis B or that you haven’t had it before and cleared it naturally. Interpretation of all these tests can be a bit complicated so best to discuss the tests and results with your doctor to make sure you understand what it all means.
Hello sir
I was advised to do antibody test for hepatitis b because my wife was diagnosed with hepatitis b positive and we planning to have kids…so I was afraid to have kids with my beloved wife and I really don’t wanna leave her because of this illness…I wanna be with her husband till the end of life…
Now here comes my hepatitis b antibody report…
SPECIAL SEROLOGY
Test Name:ANTI HBs ANTIBODY
Chemiluminescent microparticle
immunoassay (CMIA)
Test Result: 104.55 mIU/mL
Now I’m I fully protected from getting hepatitis b? Because I wanna start having kids with my beloved wife.
Hi Everich,
This lab result indicates that YES you are protected against Hepatitis B infection.
Thomas
Hello sir I have attached a photo of my antibody test report as I was directed to check my antibody because my wife was diagnosed with hepatitis b.
Dear Everich,
I am not a physician, so I cannot give medical advice. It is best to ask this question of your care provider.
However, I can tell you some general things: HBsAg antibodies are highly protective against HBV infection. The accepted levels for protection are usually considered to be over 10-12 IU/ml. If I understand the units in the report below properly, you have 0.104 IU/ml. However that interpretation requires that the nomenclature for the units follow the standard SI naming conventions (ie, 1000 mIU = 1 IU), and sometimes medical tests use different naming conventions. Hence my strong recommendation you speak with your care provider.
If you are negative, you can still have a long and happy life, with children, together with your wife! The HBV vaccine is safe and very effective. If your care provider says that the interpretation of the test above is correct (ie, your antibodies are low), then I recommend being vaccinated promptly.
Others on this email chain, like Joan Block, can give you far better advice about sharing your life with a loved one who is HBV+. Many happy couples (and families) are in your situation, and so I’m confident with support from HepB Community, the Hepatitis B Foundation, and your medical providers that you can manage this safely.
I wish you and your wife the very best.
John.
Dear Everich,
I agree with John that you are always best discussing these things with your doctor to get the best advice. The tests that I’m familiar with use 10mIU/mL as a threshold for protection, but he is right that there may be different tests throughout the world that are different. Your local doctor would probably know best.
Cheers,
Thomas
Hi Everich,
Thomas is right–I had a memory lapse (or they changed the definition of a unit in the ~25 years since I learned the protection cut-off value). I apologize for giving a mistaken reply that may have alarmed you. By this assay data and cut-off value, you are likely to be protected. However, as always with decisions that affect your health care, it is best to discuss this directly with your care provider.
John Tavis
Hi Everich, I agree with the knowledgeable scientists Thomas Tu and John Tavis that you can plan to enjoy a very happy, healthy and long life with your beloved wife. It does appear that you have surface antibodies that will protect you from infection with the hepatitis B virus. So once you confirm this with your doctor, he or she should be able to reassure that you can definitely plan to have children! Don’t wait … children are wonderful!! I live with chronic hep B and my husband does not, and we have had a very happy marriage for 25 years and our 2 children are healthy and married as well. I hope all of our messages are giving you hope and comfort!! Thanks so much for sharing your situation. Always, Joan
Is taf safe in pregnancy?
Hi @Priyanka_Nahata, welcome to HepBcommunity.
In response to your question, TDF (the precursor to TAF) is regularly used to treat pregnant women as it is much safer than entecavir (which is thought to affect the fetus from some lab studies). TAF is very similar to TDF, but TAF is slightly modified so that you need much less of it to get the same effect - you can use 90% less drug and still inhibit the virus.
Some clinical studies (some of them in HIV-positive mothers; TAF can be used to treat HIV too) have found that TAF has very low adverse effects on pregnant women and is very safe.
I hope this helps.
Thanks,
Thomas
Hi Priyanka, I agree with Thomas Tu who is a knowledgeable scientist. But in case you’re still concerned, you could consider switching to tenofovir disproxil during the last 3 months of your pregnancy since there are many studies that confirm it is safe in pregnant women. And then return to TAF after delivery. Just an idea to consider asking your doctor. However, as Thomas wrote, it would most likely be safe to stay on TAF as well. Thanks so much for your questions. Please keep us posted if you’re able! Always, Joan
It surprises me that TDF is safer than TAF. My wife was underweight. When she was on TDF , she developed chronic kidney disease and Osteoporosis. As soon as she switch to TAF, her kidney disease reverses and her Osteoporosis score stop and now improving
Why will a pregnant women change her antiretroviral drug from TAF to TDF then back to TAF, was there a clinical documentation of such procedure for pregnant woman?
Just curious
Carlos
Hi Carlos, I’m sorry for creating any confusion! I was not suggesting that TDF was safer than TAF. They’re both safe, but as you pointed out, TDF does increase the risk for kidney and bone loss issues. I actually switched from TDF to TAF because I was developing osteoporosis (which is now improving, just like your wife’s). I was only suggesting to Priyanka about talking to her doctor about switching to TDF if she was worried about taking TAF during her pregnancy since it’s a newer drug than TDF. There are years of study with TDF in HBV-infected pregnant women and TDF is now recommended for pregnant women in their 3rd trimester if they have high viral loads t(o decrease the risk of transmission to their newborn child during delivery). I’m not sure TAF is formally recommended yet because it’s so new. It could be, but I would have to check around. But please know that I agree TDF and TAF are both considered safe and effective!! But TDF has been around a lot longer so more is know about its safety profile in pregnant women. Thanks for making me clarify what I wrote. Always, Joan
Thanks Joann. I agree that TDF has been around for a long while. And there maybe safety profile for pregnant woman and developing fetus. You are right, when I suggest to our hepatologist to switch my wife to Vemlidy ( after only one month in the market) from Tenofovir, he hesitated and told me he wanted to see Vemlidy another 6 months to a year but my wife’s kidney was getting worse and her Osteoporosis is getting bad. So he consider to switch her first after Vemlidy was on the market for 6 months then switch me later to Vemlidy even my kidney is ok and I had a slight Osteopenia.
Thanks for your clarification. That’s what I thought you mean on the safety profile of TDF for pregnant women
You’re right Carlos. My liver specialist was initially at first hesitant to switch me to TAF as well since it was so new. But I didn’t want to get worse osteoporosis, so insisted! And I’m glad because my osteoporosis has also reversed significantly, so now I don’t have to start an osteoporosis drug … yet. Those osteoporosis drugs scare me because of the side effects and none of them are recommended for more than a few years. So if I start now and stop in several years, what happens when I’m really at risk of falling when I’m in my 70-80’s? Anyhow, so glad your wife’s kidney and osteoporosis have improved on TAF!!! Always, Joan
