INTRODUCTION THREAD: People affected by Hep B

[ThomasTu]

@Imanis

New here ,recently diagnosed with hepatitis, I believe I’m still on acute stage , recently I did dna viral loads test , it shows 2300ml on week 13, what are my chances to clearly before week 20 ? Also I would to hear from people who had acute hepatitis, their dna viral loads around week 10-14 .

Hi @Imanis, sorry to hear about your experiences. I’m not sure there are good tools or studies about HBV DNA load and likelihood of clearance post exposure.

@Mezzo

Hi, I’m new here. I married an Australian and in the process of applying for a partner visa. When I did a health assessment, the doctor just told me that I have hepatitis B and would need to do more blood test next week. Now other than worrying about my visa applications, I have to worry about hepB too. I’ve talked to my husband about it and he’s very supportive. I haven’t tell our family members yet. I don’t know how did I get hepB or how long I’ve been infected because both my husband and I don’t do random sex, we don’t do drugs or share needles, and I don’t think my late mom has hepB too. When I told my husband about it, he made me cry when he said it’s ok, he doesn’t mind getting infected by me. But I don’t want him to get infected, if both of us are unwell and we need to have regular check-ups and all that, it will cost more. I’m currently unemployed and I’m not sure if I’ll get discriminated if people knows that I have hepB. I’ve been reading a lot about hepB and how it affects our life. I tried to stay positive but I just can’t help it. I know it’s not the end of world but I don’t know and just not sure how to deal with it.

Sorry to hear about that @Mezzo. Indeed, many people here have successfully migrated and got visas for Australia even though they are HBV-positive (Hepatitis B and Immigration/visa issues and Australian Visa and Hep B Guide)

Regarding when you were infected, the majority of people with a chronic infection were exposed when they were newborns (e.g., mother to child) or early on as children (e.g., cuts during playing) and are asymptomatic throughout the first half of their lives. It could have been any time that you could have been exposed.

There are many people (including myself) who have HBV-negative partners. Protection is easy and effective, just a vaccine course.

I haven’t experienced any discrimination in Australia regarding employment, but I am a researcher in the field, so I guess I’m in the best case scenario.

Please do keep us up to date with how you are going.

Thomas