Hep B Hepatitis B This Term Paper

This implies a crisis for the Asian community in proportion to the AIDS epidemic. The medical community erroneously has been the typical Caucasian model for the diagnosis and treatment which entails that Asians are the same make up as Caucasians. The hepatitis B virus has been rampant in Asia and a large percentage of mothers pass it on to their children during birth. Although the virus infects males and females equally, it usually kills Asian males more often through the inherent cancer or liver disease. Asian children grow up healthy because the dormant virus hides in the liver and unleashes its destructive power during young adulthood. Therefore, Asian men in their 20's or 30's are at a high risk for liver cancer. Unfortunately, being born in the United States as opposed to Asia has not made a difference in the Asian population.

The serological results presented help to provide insights into the history of typical chronic infected male. Other serologic tests could help determine if and when patients have an acute HBV infection or if the person is a chronic carrier. Diagnosis should be based on clinical, laboratory, and epidemiologic findings. The fact is that HBV infection cannot be differentiated on a basis of clinical symptoms alone so more definitive diagnosis would depend on serologic testing results. The Serologic markers of HBV infection would be the key fro distinguishing if the infection is acute or chronic. These serologic tests include:

HBsAg - this is the most commonly used test for diagnosing acute HBV infections and therefore detecting carriers. HBsAg can be detected as early as 1 or 2 weeks or as late as 11 or 12 weeks after exposure to HBV if sensitive assays are utilized.The presence of HBsAg indicates that a person is infectious, regardless of whether the infection is acute or chronic.

Anti-HBc (core antibody) develops in all HBV infections and appear shortly after HBsAg in the acute disease. This indicates that the HBV infection was undefined in the past. Anti-HBc only occurs after HBV infection, and does not develop in persons whose immunity to HBV is from vaccine. Anti-HBc generally persists for life and is not a serologic marker for acute infection.

IgM anti-HBc appears in persons with acute disease about the time of illness onset and indicates recent infection with HBV. IgM anti-HBc is generally detectable 4 to 6 months after onset of illness and is the best serologic marker of acute HBV infection. A negative test for IgM-anti-HBc together with a positive test for HBsAg in a single blood sample identifies a chronic HBV infection.

HBeAg is a useful marker associated strongly with the number of infective HBV particles in the serum and a higher risk of infectivity.

Anti-HBs (surface antibody) is a protective, neutralizing antibody. The presence of anti-HBs following acute HBV infection generally indicates recovery and immunity from reinfection. Anti-HBs can also be acquired as an immune response to hepatitis B vaccine or passively transferred by administration of HBIG. Using radioimmunoassay (RIA), a minimum of 10 sample ratio units should be used to designate immunity. Using enzyme immunoassay (EIA), the manufacturer's recommended positive should be considered an appropriate measure of immunity. The level of anti-HBs may also be expressed in milli-International Units/mL (mIU/mL). Ten mIU/mL is considered to….....