| What three tests make up the "hepatitis B blood panel"? What is the hepatitis B surface antibody HBsAb or anti-HBs? If you think you have been recently infected with hepatitis B, it can take up to 9 weeks before the virus will be detected in your blood | Is there a blood test for hepatitis B? For chronically infected persons, it will usually appear with the virus positive HBsAg |
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| What is the hepatitis B core antibody HBcAb? There are 3 common tests that make up this blood panel | Understanding your hepatitis B blood test results can be confusing, so you want to be sure about your diagnosis — are you infected with hepatitis B, have you recovered from a hepatitis B infection, or do you have a chronic hepatitis B infection? A "positive" or "reactive" HBcAb or anti-HBc test result indicates a past or present infection |
Sometimes the doctor may ask to check your blood again six months after your first visit to confirm your hepatitis B status.
20| The hepatitis B blood panel requires only one blood sample but includes three tests that are needed to make a final diagnosis: HBsAg hepatitis B surface antigen HBsAb or anti-HBs hepatitis B surface antibody HBcAb or anti-HBc hepatitis B core antibody What is the hepatitis B surface antigen HBsAg? The HBcAb is an antibody that is part of the virus- it does not provide protection | This result along with a negative HbsAg result means that you are immune to protected from a future hepatitis B infection |
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| In addition, it is helpful if you request a written copy of your blood tests so that you fully understand which tests are positive or negative | The interpretation of this test result depends on the results of the other two tests |
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