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The typical seroconversion timecourse for hepatitis B. Seroconversion plays a major role in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B infections. [60] As in other viral infections, seropositivity indicates that an individual has a sufficiently high concentration of antibody or antigen in the blood to be detectable by standard techniques.
HBIG should be given within 14 days of exposure to the hepatitis B virus. [7] The half-life of HBIG is about 3 weeks. In lieu of a booster administration of HBIG, a hepatitis B vaccination is initiated at the time of the initial HBIG administration, thus providing long term protection.
Hepatitis B vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis B. [13] The first dose is recommended within 24 hours of birth with either two or three more doses given after that. [ 13 ] This includes those with poor immune function such as from HIV/AIDS and those born premature . [ 13 ]
Vaccines for the prevention of hepatitis B have been routinely recommended for babies since 1991 in the United States. [71] The first dose is generally recommended within a day of birth. [72] The hepatitis B vaccine was the first vaccine capable of preventing cancer, specifically liver cancer. [73]
Passive immunity starts working faster than vaccines do, as the patient's immune system does not need to make its own antibodies: B cells take time to activate and multiply after a vaccine is given. Passive immunity works even if an individual has a immune system disorder that prevents them from making antibodies in response to a vaccine. [18]
Once hepatitis C was identified in 1989, blood banks began screening all blood donors for the presence of the virus in their bloodstream. However, since hepatitis C is known to have been present since at least the 1940s, a gamma globulin shot received prior to the early 1990s put the recipient at risk of being infected.
Patients who developed antibodies against HBsAg (anti-HBsAg seroconversion) are usually considered non-infectious. HBsAg detection by immunoassay is used in blood screening, to establish a diagnosis of hepatitis B infection in the clinical setting (in combination with other disease markers) and to monitor antiviral treatment.
As with any vaccine, some people will not produce antibodies after vaccination so it is possible to get infected even if you have been vaccinated but it is unlikely. Kurtmdphd 23:13, 22 February 2009 (UTC) I agree, but as you said, infection after vaccination is rare. Graham. Graham Colm Talk 23:21, 22 February 2009 (UTC)