Appearance of which of the following correlates with high levels of hepatitis B virus replication -

Ans. is 'b' i.e., HBeAg Serological marker and lab diagnosis* Serological markers for HBV infection are1) HBs Ag (surface antigen or Australia antigen): It is the first marker which appears in the serum. It is the epidemiological marker for HBV infection.2) HBc Ag (core antigen): It is not demonstrable in serum because it is enclosed by HBsAg coat.3) HBe Ag (envelope antigen): It is marker of active replication and high injectivity. It is qualitative marker of replication. HBs Ag carrier mothers who are HBe Ag positive almost invariably (> 90%) transmit hepatitis B infection to their offspring, where as HBs Ag carrier mothers with anti HBe rarely (10 to 15%) infect their offspring.4) Anti-HBc Ag: It is the first antibody appears in serum. IgM anti-HBc Ag is a marker of acute or recent infection. IgG anti-HBc Ag indicates remote infection.5) Anti-HBs Ag: It is protective antibody. It is the only serological marker present after vaccination. After an infection, its presence indicates recovery and end of period of communicability.6) Anti-HBe Ag: Its presence indicate stopage of replication and low infectivity.7) HBV DNA: It is quantitative marker of HBV replication.* HBe Ag - Qualitative marker of replication.* HBV DNA - Quantitative marker of replication. HBs AgAnti HBs AgHBe AgAnti HBe AgAnti HBc AgAcute HBV (high infectivity)+-+ IgMAcute HBV (low infectivity)+- +IgMChronic HBV (high infectivity)+-+ IgMChronic HBV (low infectivity)+- +IgMRecovery-+-+IgMImmunized-+-