Tested for HBV and wife pregnant. Please help

Hello,

Please kindly read my situation. I’m concerned as my wife is pregnant and I’m worried about the baby.

I’m 35 years old who grew up in South Asia. I never had any blood work or annul checkups done until recently. I did not even know my blood group. No sexual partners other than my wife. I don’t know how or when I might have got Hep B.

We came to know that my wife was pregnant in Oct 2021. No sex after she got pregnant. I went for blood donation drive at American Red Cross in Nov 2021 and got a letter with below test results:

Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Test: Non-Reactive
Hepatitis B Core Antibodies Test: Reactive
HBc Final Interpretation: Reactive
HBV Discriminatory NAT: Reactive

I went to Primary Physician and test reports from that visit:

Hepatitis B Surface Antigen: Non-Reactive
Hepatitis B Core IGM: Non-Reactive
Hepatitis C Virus Antibody: Non-Reactive
Hepatitis A Antibody IGM: Non-Reactive

Doctor said that lab made a mistake in above tests and did wrong test(like Hep C & Hep A instead of Hep B tests). But he said it doesn’t matter as virus was found in my DNA(though very low) as per below results from another report. He has referred me to a GI. I have to see GI next.

HBV QNT by NAAT(IU/ml): <10 detected
HBV QNT by NAAT(log IU/ml): <1.00

My wife’s blood work from her Obgyn’s first prenatal visit tested Non-Reactive for HBsAg.

I’m confused to whether I have Hep B and if I can infect my wife?

Going forward, what tests/vaccinations should we follow for my wife through her pregnancy and for baby when born ?

1 Like

Dear @Concerned,

Welcome to the our community and thank you for sharing your story. I’m a not a clinician and so am not trained to provide medical advice. But as a scientist, I can provide some background on the virus biology and lab results.

Regarding your lab results, they indicate that you have been previously exposed to Hepatitis B (because you are positive for Hep B core antibody) but that you have cleared it (because you are negative for Hep B surface antigen). This would be the outcome of an acute infection or clearance of a chronic infection, which is a great thing and is what many of us here hope for.

Regarding your risk for transmission, it is extremely low. Your DNA levels are barely detectable. Others here have had much higher levels (1000s IU/mL) without knowing and not transmitted to their partners (e.g. Partner is not positive for HBsAg, anti-HBs, or anti-HBc).

Hope this helps and relieves some of your fears.

Thomas

4 Likes

Thank You so much for your response. Will keep posted once my GI Appointment is done

1 Like

A post was merged into an existing topic: EXPLAINER: Lab results and their interpretation

A post was merged into an existing topic: Having children and Hepatitis B