Australia antigen (HBsAg)

Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection caused by Hepatitis B virus. It can be acute which lasts for less than 6 months or it can become chronic which is a long lasting infection. Chronic infection with hepatitis B increases your chances of developing liver failure, cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection caused by Hepatitis B virus. It can be acute which lasts for less than 6 months or it can become chronic which is a long lasting infection. Chronic infection with hepatitis B increases your chances of developing liver failure, cirrhosis or liver cancer. Vaccine against hepatitis B is available but there is no cure if you are infected. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin & eyes (jaundice), passing dark coloured urine & weakness. Hepatitis B virus is passed from person to person through blood, semen & other body fluids like saliva. It can be passed from an infected pregnant mother to the baby during child birth. It also spreads through accidental needle stick injuries or in drug users who share the needles. This test identifies inactive carriers of hepatitis B.