Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
do i have hepatitis B?
i donated blood a few months ago, and i recently got a letter from the American Red Cross saying that they tested my blood, and that i had returned a positive for "hepatitis B antigens" but a negative for "hepatitis". no one in my family has had hepatitis, and no one i have had sex with has had hepatitis. did i just get a false positive, or could i actually have hepatitis antigens? and if so, how?
I mean, i know it's a virus, so if i have the antigens, that must mean that i have had it and defeated it. but to my knoweldge, i have never had hepatitis.
3 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
blood bank tests only two things: the surface antigen and the core antibody. If you have antigen, then you ARE infected. If you have antibody only, then you were exposed in the past, but do not have it now.
Source(s): I am a board certified hepatologist - 1 decade ago
many people who become infected with hepatitis B don't even know they are infected and clear the disease on their own, producing natural immunity. However, some people may have chronic active hepatitis B and not realize it either. your next step should be to go to your doctor and have them run a full hepatitis panel on you to see where you stand. hep B is highly infectious. do you work around blood? it's also common among MSM.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
It means you had the virus, and defated it.
90 percent of people with it dont even know they had it.
