Hello,
Im currently pregnant and was tested for hepatitis b. My Hbsag came back reactive but Hbcab total was non reactive and Hbsab came back <5 & says i do not have immunity to the virus. Is there a chance i have the virus or could this be a false postive? I received the full dose of hep b vaccine at birth.
Dear @Lsm1006 ,
Rebound of HBV viral infection following birth dose vaccination does happen in 5-10% of people with mothers who were infected with HBV at birth. This may or may not be the situation in your case.
I agree that your result is confusing since you appear to be HBsAg positive but HBcAb total negative. This may be a result of a mutation in the HBcAg protein gene which prevents the formation of a normal HBcAb response detectable by standard tests.
You should get a HBV DNA test to settle the issue. Also important is your liver function tests (ALT/AST) - are these normal?
Best regards,
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I recently got my test results back. HBcAB negative, HBsAG negative, and HBsAB reactive high15.96 iu/ml. All LFTs normal besides ALT 45 which ULN is 44. Just noticed that HBV pcr quant was 10<IU/ML. Confused if this result was a false positive? I have never been diagnosed with acute or chronic hep b
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Hi Vpaz9309 and welcome to the forum.
Have you been vaccinated? Was your HBV DNA result < 10 IU/mL? I would check back with the lab and see if it was target not detected. Some labs will not report this.
Best regards,
I have been vaccinated. And yes that was my HBV DNA PCR quant. It has been driving me nuts.I know I’m vaccinated and results show I’m protected. But no signs of anything but the DNA. But from what I’m reading it’s 56<copies if indeed it’s not a false reading or just a misrepresentation of not detected. Sorry for last post it was <10 iu/ml
Hi @Vpaz9309 ,
I really think your HBV DNA is target not detected and the test lab is reporting as < 10IU/mL. I don’t think this is a false positive (especially since HBcAb is negative) its just a confusion with the way the result is reported.
Best regards,
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