What does hepatitis B surface antigen positive mean?

Many people may think that hepatitis B is a very scary and incurable disease at first, but this is not the case. If you can check your body regularly and detect any discomfort in time, you will be able to control the symptoms of the disease well. Patients with hepatitis B surface antigen should learn more. Correctly understanding the symptoms and complications of the disease is very helpful for the treatment of the disease.

Patients with suspicious physical examinations may have a misunderstanding about hepatitis B surface antigen. Such test results do not mean that they have hepatitis B disease. In medicine, the occurrence of hepatitis B disease can only be accurately determined by combining other test results.

Several situations in which HBsAg is positive:

1. Hepatitis B surface antigen is positive, and hepatitis B virus DNA is less than 1000. It is generally believed that only the surface shell of hepatitis B virus exists in the body, and there is no hepatitis B virus DNA, no virus replication and no infectiousness. Only regular inspection is required;

2. Hepatitis B surface antigen is positive and hepatitis B virus DNA>1000, which means that there is complete hepatitis B virus in the body, which is replicable and contagious. The strength of the contagiousness depends on the amount of hepatitis B virus DNA.

Therefore, when the hepatitis B virus surface antigen is positive, do not panic, but make a comprehensive judgment based on the PCR test results.

Is surface antigen positive for hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity is one of the signs of hepatitis B virus infection in the body, which may occur in the following situations:

1. Hepatitis B incubation period. After a person is infected with the hepatitis B virus, HBsAg positivity first appears in the infected person's serum. The test is usually positive 2-3 weeks before the onset of hepatitis B, reaches its peak when the disease occurs, and 80% of the infected people disappear within 4 weeks after the onset of the disease.

2. If HBsAg is accidentally found to be positive during a physical examination or blood test, the person may be an asymptomatic carrier of the hepatitis B virus, or he may not be diagnosed and treated in time after infection due to mild symptoms. When the disease is discovered, the liver function has returned to normal, but HBsAg is positive. Therefore, so-called "healthy carriers" need to have their liver function checked regularly. If the serum transaminase level remains normal, no special treatment is required.

3. Chronic hepatitis B. There are symptoms and signs, not only HBsAg is positive, but also hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg) is positive, and serum transaminase is often elevated. This situation indicates that the virus is multiplying in the patient's body, constantly damaging the liver, and may eventually develop into cirrhosis. A few may develop liver cancer, and active treatment should be given.

Through this article, we can understand that hepatitis B surface antigen is not the so-called hepatitis B disease. We can educate patients around us more about this knowledge in daily life. On the one hand, it can effectively alleviate the negative emotions caused by the disease; on the other hand, it can have a good alleviating effect on patients with the disease, and it also increases patients’ confidence in the treatment of the disease.