Patient's question:
My sister-in-law only found out she had hepatitis B with a high viral load () when she was giving birth. She didn't know about it before, and we were very upset. Is it highly contagious? Will the child be affected? Will my brother get infected? Will our family members get infected? Did pregnancy bring it on, or did she have the disease from the start?Doctor's answer:
This situation should have been previously transmitted, as there have never been any symptoms and no additional tests were conducted, so they were unaware. After the baby is born, it is best to administer the hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin within 24 hours to provide effective protection. To protect the child, it is best not to breastfeed. You and your family, especially your brother, must get a hepatitis B two-surface test promptly. If all results are negative, it is important to get the hepatitis B vaccine. After vaccination, if protective antibodies (hepatitis B surface antibody) are produced, there will be no need to worry about infection. Whether it is highly contagious depends on the hepatitis B virus DNA test results.