What does a positive hepatitis B core antibody test mean?

Everyone is unfamiliar with medical terms and doesn't know what they mean. Often, they need a doctor's help to understand, especially what is positive and what is negative, and what is the difference between them. Now I will introduce to you the hepatitis B core antibody positivity. To understand what the hepatitis B core antibody is, let's take a look at it below.

Hepatitis B core antibody is also called anti-HBc, and its English abbreviation is HBcAb. Including hepatitis B core antibody IgM and hepatitis B core antibody IgG, competitive detection is commonly used. After HBV infection, this antibody can be detected in the serum of most people. It is a sensitive serological marker and an early sign of acute hepatitis B infection. It exists in the serum for a long time and some people have very high titers. When HBsAg and anti-HBs are negative, hepatitis B core antibody can be detected in the serum. High titer of hepatitis B core antibody is also a sign of infection.

When HBsAg and anti-HBs are negative, hepatitis B core antibody can be detected in the serum. High titer of hepatitis B core antibody is also a sign of infection.

Classification of antibodies

Anti-HBc can be divided into three types: anti-HBcIgM, anti-HBcIgA, and anti-HBcIgG. These types appear and disappear in sequence during HBV infection. Only the IgG type can exist for a long time. In the test report of the laboratory, if only "anti-HBc" is marked without typing, then it should be the sum of these three types. However, most hospital laboratory reports are divided into two types: IgM and IgG.

Anti-HBclgM, also called "hepatitis B core antibody IgM type", often indicates acute HBV infection, or acute attack of chronic hepatitis B, or active stage of chronic hepatitis B. It will change with the changes in people's condition. When the condition improves, IgM will gradually disappear and be replaced by IgG.

Anti-HBcIgG type, called "hepatitis B core antibody IgG type", often indicates chronic HBV infection or past infection. Although HBv has been cleared in the past, IgG core antibodies may still be detected in the blood. This type of antibody is present in the blood of patients with chronic hepatitis B, and so is the blood of patients with hepatitis B in the recovery period. The hepatitis B carriers we call are all chronic HBv carriers, and they should all have this type of antibody.