Paper II
2016 February (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Serological markers of hepatitis B infection.

Q42 marksShort Notes

Answer

Serological markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection:

  • HBsAg — the first marker to appear, indicates current infection (acute or chronic, if persisting >6 months); the target antigen of the vaccine.
  • Anti-HBs — indicates recovery with immunity (natural infection) or successful vaccination.
  • IgM anti-HBc — indicates recent/acute infection; a key marker during the “window period” (when HBsAg has cleared but anti-HBs has not yet risen).
  • IgG anti-HBc — persists long-term, indicating past or current infection (absent after vaccination, distinguishing vaccinated from naturally-infected/recovered individuals).
  • HBeAg — marker of active viral replication and high infectivity.
  • Anti-HBe — its appearance generally indicates reduced replication/infectivity (though precore mutants can be an exception).
  • HBV DNA (quantitative PCR) — the most direct marker of active viral replication, used to monitor disease activity/treatment response.

Typical patterns: acute infection — HBsAg+, IgM anti-HBc+; window period — only IgM anti-HBc positive; chronic infection — HBsAg+ (>6 months), IgG anti-HBc+; resolved infection — anti-HBs+, IgG anti-HBc+; vaccinated (never infected) — anti-HBs+ only, anti-HBc negative.

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