HEPATITIS B ENVELOPE ANTIGEN (HbeAg)

Description

OD Ratio

  • Negative : ≤0.90
  • Equivocal : 0.90-1.00
  • Positive : ≥1.00

Clinical significance

  • HBe Antigen in serum indicated that a high level of viral replication is going on in the liver. It can be secreted from hepatocytes directly into blood as a soluble protein, which is thought to promote and maintain persistent infection. Its presence indicated high levels of virus in the blood, and is an indicator of the infectiousness of the carrier
  • Hbe Ag appears within 1 week after HbsAg and lasts for 3-6 weeks in normal cases of acute hepatitis
  • Presence of Hbe Ag indicates highly infectious state. It is detected only in HbsAg positive serum
  • HbeAg estimation serves as an alternative to HBV-DNA assay, since it is a marker of HBV replication
  • Persistence of more than 10 weeks suggests progression to chronic carrier state and possible chronic hepatitis
  • If the test is negative, but the person is HBsAg positive, then it indicates low levels of virus in the blood

When to get tested

  • In a known case of hepatitis B infection- to find out severity of infection
  • To find out resolution of infection
  • To predict the carrier state of hepatitis B infection

Elevated level

Decreased level

Profile

Hepatitis

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