Home›Hepatitis B e (Envelop) Antigen

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Written by

Dr. Betina Chandolia

BDS, MDS - Oral Pathology and Microbiology

Reviewed by

Dr. Ashish Ranjan

MBBS, MD (Pharmacology)

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Hepatitis B e (Envelop) Antigen

(HbeAg)

You need to provide

Blood

This test is for

Male, Female

Test Preparation

No special preparation required

Overview

What is HbeAg?

The Hepatitis B e Antigen test is performed to diagnose an infection of Hepatitis B Virus. It is also performed as a part of a panel of tests for Hepatitis B to find out if the infection has been acquired recently. Patients who test positive for Hepatitis B e Ag are more infectious as compared to Hepatitis B e Ag negative patients. During recovery from acute hepatitis B, HBeAg level declines and becomes undetectable in the serum, while hepatitis B e-antibody (anti-HBe) appears and becomes detectable in the serum.

Why is HbeAg done?

When symptoms of acute hepatitis appear, which include fever, fatigue, joint pain, dark coloured urine and pale coloured stool, jaundice, etc.
When the patient is suspected of being exposed to HBV