A 45 day-old infant developed icterus and two days later symptoms and signs of acute liver failure appeared. Child was found to be positive for HbsAg. The mother was also HBs Ag carrier. The mother's hepatitis B serological profile is likely to be:
High-Yield Explanation
HBeAg-positive women in third trimester frequently transmit infection to the fetus (80-90%) in the absence of immunoprophylaxis, whereas those who are negative rarely infect the fetus. Ref: Kliegman, Behrman, Jenson, Stanton (2008), Chapter 355, "Viral Hepatitis", In the book, "NELSON TEXTBOOK OF PEDIATRICS", Volume 2, 18th Edition, New Delhi, Page 1683.