Patient's question:
I used to have chronic hepatitis B (3 years ago). Now our company requires health checks, and it's said that hospitals no longer test for the five hepatitis B markers but instead test for two. I want to know if testing for two hepatitis B markers will reveal that I had chronic hepatitis B in the past. Thank you.Doctor's answer:
The five hepatitis B tests refer to HBsAg (hepatitis B surface antigen), HBsAb (hepatitis B surface antibody), HBeAg (hepatitis B e antigen), HBeAb (hepatitis B e antibody), and HBcAb (hepatitis B core antibody). Hepatitis B "" refers to the positivity of surface antigen, e antigen, and core antibody. The two hepatitis B tests you mentioned may refer to the first and fifth items, which are relatively meaningful. It is recommended that you get the five hepatitis B tests checked early. Currently, the tests for the five hepatitis B items (also known as hepatitis B dual pairs) have not been discontinued. The tests for two hepatitis B items have not been widely used.