Skip to content
Epomedicine

Mnemonics, Simplified Concepts & Thoughts

Epomedicine

Mnemonics, Simplified Concepts & Thoughts

hepatitis b serology

Interpreting Hepatitis B Serology in 5 Easy steps

Epomedicine, Feb 3, 2017

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)

  • Appears during incubation period (1-6 months), 2-7 weeks prior to symptoms.
  • Peaks when the patient is most ill.
  • Becomes undetectable in 3-6 months.
  • Indicates infection – recent or chronic.

Hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs or HBsAb)

  • Arises once the acute disease has resolved.
  • Sometimes, not detectable unless until weeks or months after HBsAg has disappeared. This gap is called “window” period.
  • Indicates, immunity (by vaccination or infection).

Hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc or HBcAb)

  • Anti-HBc IgM and elevated serum transaminases also appear shortly before the symptom onset.
  • Over the next few months, anti-HBc IgM is replaced with an IgG component.
  • IgM = Recent (Acute) infection
  • IgG = Chronic infection

Hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg)

  • Shortly after HBsAg appears, HBeAg and HBV DNA can be detected in the serum and are markers of the acute viral replication.
  • Predictor of infectivity.

Hepatitis B e-antibody (anti-HBe or HBeAb)

  • Anti-HBe appears shortly after HBeAg vanishes and indicates subsiding viral activity.
  • Predictor of low infectivity.
hepatitis b serology
Acute Hepatitis B infection – serologic course

 

 

chronic hepatitis b infection - serologic course
chronic hepatitis b infection – serologic course
  HBsAg Anti-HBs Anti-HBc HBeAg Anti-HBe
Never infected (susceptible) – – – – –
Incubation period + (1st to appear) – IgM (shortly before symptom onset) + –
Prodrome, Acute disease + – IgM + +/-
Window period – – IgM +/- +/-
Convalescence (Recovery) – + IgG – +/-
Chronic active hepatitis B + – IgG + –
Chronic non-active hepatitis B + – IgG – +
Immune due to Vaccination – + – – –
Immune due to Natural infection – + IgG – +/-
False positive or infection in remote past – – IgG – –
2 shares
  • Facebook2
  • Twitter
PGMEE, MRCS, USMLE, MBBS, MD/MS Gastrointestinal systemImmunologyMicrobiology

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

PGMEE, MRCS, USMLE, MBBS, MD/MS type 1 and 2 error

Errors and P-value

May 30, 2019Sep 27, 2021

Statistical hypotheses Null hypothesis (H0): No difference or relation exists; e.g. Treatment A is not better than Treatment B Alternative or research hypothesis (H1): Some difference or relation exists, e.g. Treatment A is better than Treatment B Statistical errors Type I error (alpha): False positive (Falsely rejecting Null-hypothesis; i.e. null…

Read More
PGMEE, MRCS, USMLE, MBBS, MD/MS

Nipah virus

Nov 16, 2020Nov 16, 2020

Nipah virus is closely related to, but distinct from Hendra virus. Family: Paramyxoviridae Genus: Henipavirus History: A Nipah epidemic of viral encephalitis, complicated by respiratory failure, occurred in Malaysia in 1998 and 1999, causing 265 infections and 105 fatalities (93% had occupational exposure to pigs). An associated outbreak among abbatoir…

Read More
PGMEE, MRCS, USMLE, MBBS, MD/MS dexamethasone suppression

Understanding Dexamethasone Suppression Test

Jan 30, 2017Aug 8, 2023

The Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) is based on the principle of negative feedback exerted by steroids on pituitary gland’s ACTH secretion. Negative feedback with exogenous steroid works if the cause is excessive ACTH secretion from pituitary: 1. Cushing’s disease (pituitary ACTH dependent Cushing’s syndrome): Excessive ACTH secretion by pituitary adenoma…

Read More

Comments (2)

  1. Smith says:
    Aug 1, 2017 at 10:08 am

    Dear admin
    I want to ask anti-hbs is 76.61.csbt/ is high or low. Many thanks.

    Reply
  2. Agatha says:
    Jul 23, 2019 at 6:09 pm

    My sister almost died of CHRONIC HEPATITIS B, she suffered rips pain, swollen stomach, tiredness, headache and more as symptoms of the ailment. The hospital said her liver was in danger and they couldn’t help, and out of frustration I went online looking for solution to help my sister, and I came across Dr. Iyabiye’s herbal recommendation, I contacted him and explain in details the medical condition of my sister. I order for the medication and the pains was gone, she was totally cured after the herbal treatment. So, I came back here to testify of his herbal medication. Doctor’s contact: (Whatsapp: +2348072229413 call:+2348158577300) email: [email protected]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Epomedicine. Interpreting Hepatitis B Serology in 5 Easy steps [Internet]. Epomedicine; 2017 Feb 3 [cited 2026 Sep 3]. Available from: https://epomedicine.com/medical-students/interpreting-hepatitis-b-serology-5-easy-steps/.

Pre-clinical (Basic Sciences)

Anatomy

Biochemistry

Community medicine (PSM)

Embryology

Microbiology

Pathology

Pharmacology

Physiology

Clinical Sciences

Anesthesia

Dermatology

Emergency medicine

Forensic

Internal medicine

Gynecology & Obstetrics

Oncology

Ophthalmology

Orthopedics

Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)

Pediatrics

Psychiatry

Radiology

Surgery

RSS feed: Ask Epomedicine Ask Epomedicine

  • What to study for Clinical examination in Orthopedics?
  • What is the mechanism of AVNRT?

Epomedicine weekly

  • About Epomedicine
  • Contact Us
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit Article
  • Editorial Board
  • USMLE
  • MRCS
  • Thesis
©2026 Epomedicine | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes