HBs negative in the HBsAg test usually means no active or chronic HBV infection that causes hepatitis B. A person with HBs negative is most likely not a carrier of the hepatitis B virus, but there are exceptional situations where such a result can be obtained by being infected.
HBs antigen non-reactive
HBs is also known as HBV (Hepatitis B Surface Antigen) envelope antigen and is at the heart of the HBsAg test, which is whether it is present or absent in the blood. The antigen is a typical serological marker, encoded by a fragment of the C gene, which indicates the carrier of HBV or one of the many phases of hepatitis B. HBs antigen appears in the bloodstream most often in the third week after infection with HBV, and in extreme cases it is already detectable even after two weeks. HBs antigen is one of the common markers in the diagnosis of hepatitis B because it is one of the first antigens to become active after infection. HBs is present in the body during the disease and should disappear no later than 3 months after the onset of symptoms (in some situations it disappears after two months).
Standard
HBsAg testing to detect HBs antigen is recommended not only in pregnant women and people suspected of having acute hepatitis. Testing to exclude HBV infection should also be performed by people at risk, which includes, among others, contact with infected blood, previous blood transfusion, no vaccination against hepatitis B (including before pregnancy), intravenous injections. Doctors also recommend testing people infected with HIV, men who have sexual contact with other men, people with a lowered immune system, needles, injuries, and people who have contact with HBV. It should also be remembered that HBs antigen testing is ordered before each surgery.
Tests
HBs negative is one of the possible results in the HBsAg test, which determines the presence of HBs antigen in the blood serum. The HBsAg test is one of the basic and obligatory tests performed between 33 and 37 weeks of pregnancy. It is also performed in people suspected of having acute hepatitis. An indication for the HBsAg test may be symptoms of one of the phases in hepatitis B: muscle pain, joint pain, high fever, feeling of chronic fatigue and general weakness, brown urine, light stools. An emergency situation in which HBsAg testing should be performed without delay is symptoms of jaundice, enlargement of the spleen and liver, pain in the right hypochondrium, as well as signs of anemia and pancreatitis. It is worth doing the test when there are frequent bleeding from the gums and nose, dilation of blood vessels and itching of the skin. These symptoms often indicate chronic hepatitis B. To perform the test, a small blood sample, usually taken from a vein in the elbow, near the elbow (fossa) is needed. You do not need to prepare or be on an empty stomach for the test. The waiting time for the results ranges from several minutes to several days.
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