A healthy 52-year-old pediatrician experiences a deep puncture of the left hand with a used needle and is checked for immunity to hepatitis B virus (HBV). The serology report notes no detectable antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (<10 mIU/mL). The pediatrician has documentation of receipt of a three-dose series of hepatitis B vaccine administered in the deltoid muscle 19 years earlier. Hepatitis B serology has not been checked previously.
Which one of the following statements is not correct?
Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small, double-shelled virus in the family hepadnaviridae. Humans are the only known host for HBV, although some primates have been infected in laboratory conditions.
Answer: c is not correct.
Because antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) is not detectable, the pediatrician may or may not be susceptible to hepatitis B infection.
It is difficult to interpret...
