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Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)

There are three forms of hepatitis:

Hepatitis A (Infectious Hepatitis)
Hepatitis B (Serum Hepatitis, Transfusion Hepatitis)
Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis

Hepatitis A:

Transmitted through close personal contact (oral or fecal)
Affects children and young adults more often
Is not associated with chronic hepatitis or a carrier status
Has an incubation period of 2-6 weeks, followed by an abrupt onset
Hepatitis A IgM will be elevated from 6-14 weeks after infection.

Hepatitis B:

Transmitted parenterally (drug injection or transfusion)
10% become carriers
Has an incubation period of 6-26 weeks, followed by a gradual onset of symptoms and signs.
Hepatitis B Surface Antigen appears in the serum from 4-12 weeks following infection
Hepatitis B Core Antibody appears within 6-14 weeks
Hepatitis B Surface Antibody appears 4-10 months following infection, indicating clinical recovery and immunity to the Hep B virus

Normal Values*

Hepatitis A	Negative
Hepatitis B	Negative
Hepatitis, Non-A, Non-B	Negative

*These are general values taken from a variety of sources. The actual normal values may vary from lab to lab and from one type of testing protocol to another.

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Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Department of the Navy
2300 E Street NW
Washington, D.C
20372-5300

Operational Medicine
Health Care in Military Settings
CAPT Michael John Hughey, MC, USNR
NAVMED P-5139
January 1, 2001

United States Special Operations Command
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, Florida
33621-5323

*This web version is provided by The Brookside Associates Medical Education Division. It contains original contents from the official US Navy NAVMED P-5139, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the US Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

Operational Medicine 2001
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