Hepatitis B is a potentially life threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.1
The disease is not always self limiting: In adults approx. 5 % of acute infections will follow a chronic course of varying degrees of severity; infants will develop chronic hepatitis B in up to 90 % of the cases.1 An estimated 257 million people are living with HBV infection. In 2015, hepatitis B resulted in 887,000 deaths, mostly from complications (including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma).1
The hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) is a secretory protein processed from the precore protein that appears in serum as a result of HBV proliferation in acute or chronic hepatitis B. HBeAg is a marker of HBV replication and infectivity, and its presence is usually associated with higher rates of transmission.2,3
HBeAg seroconversion to anti-HBe suggests the end of active viral replication and is therefore associated with clinical resolution of self-limited hepatitis B or remission during chronic disease, marking a transition from the immune-active phase of the disease to the inactive carrier state.3-6
The HBeAg test is, therefore, meaningful in association with the anti-HBe test for monitoring the course of HBV infection and the effect of treatment for chronic hepatitis B. 3-6