A 2 month old baby presented with acute icteric viral hepatitis. The mother is a known hepatitis B carrier. Mother's hepatitis B virus serological profile is MOST likely to be:
High-Yield Explanation
In this situation mother to child transmission occured and is more likely when mother is HBsAg and HBeAg positive. The likelihood of perinatal transmission of HBV correlates with the presence of HBeAg and high-level viral replication; 90% of HBeAg-positive mothers but only 10-15% of anti-HBe-positive mothers transmit HBV infection to their offspring. In most cases, acute infection in the neonate is clinically asymptomatic, but the child is very likely to remain chronically infected. Ref: Harrisons principles of internal medicine, 18th edition, Chapter 304