Hepatitis B Virus

Testing site      

Alaska State Virology Laboratory (ASLV) - Fairbanks 

Fairbanks Lab Request Form

Diseases 

Viral hepatitis 

Organisms 

Hepatitis B virus (formerly known as Serum Hepatitis) 

Test Method 

Chemiluminescent Immunoassay (CLIA)  

• Hepatitis B: Screen (for current or past infection)  
  • Core total antibody, surface antibody, surface antigen 
• Hepatitis B Surface Antibody only 
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigen  
  • Reactive hepatitis B surface antigen reflexes to hepatitis B core total antibody and hepatitis B surface antibody as well as hepatitis B core IgM antibody with hepatitis B surface antigen confirmatory testing if needed. 

Note: Low-positive surface antigen tests will undergo confirmation using a neutralization assay.  Hepatitis B core IgM antibody is performed on all positive surface antigen specimens to differentiate acute and chronic infection.   

Availability

•  Routine testing  
• Available for patients at least 2 years old  

Specimen type 

Serum   

• Minimum volume required: 1.5mL  
• Blood collected in a serum separator tube (SST) is recommended.  

Specimen collection instructions 

1. Collect the blood aseptically by venipuncture in SST and centrifuge from red blood cells within 2 hours.  
2. Store spun SST frozen at <-20°C to stage for shipping.  Self-defrosting freezers are not recommended for sample storage.  
3. Indicate date shipped and date frozen on the Fairbanks Lab Request Form.  

Storage and transport  

Ship on dry ice or many frozen cold packs.  

• Ambient temperature shipping is not recommended per reagent manufacturer guidelines.   
• Refrigerated specimens are also not recommended due to manufacturer limitations on completing testing within 4 days (including transit time) if stored at 2-8°C.  
• Samples received warm, grossly hemolyzed, highly lipemic or turbid, or collected in other collection devices may be rejected. 

Ship to: Fairbanks Public Health Laboratory, ATTN: Clinical Virology   

Results  

• Hepatitis B Virus Core Total Antibody: Reactive/Non-Reactive 
• Hepatitis B Virus Core IgM Antibody: Reactive/Non-Reactive 
• Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antibody: Positive/Negative 
  • NOTE: Positive surface antibody results are over 10.0 mIU/mL. 
• Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen: Reactive/Non-Reactive 
• Hepatitis B Core IgM Antibody: Reactive/Non-Reactive 

For Hepatitis B surface Antibody for vaccinated individuals or those that have cleared an infection, a normal result is positive.  

Normal for all other panel results is non-reactive.

Interpretations

• Interpretation of hepatitis B laboratory results
• Understanding Hepatitis B Blood Tests

Turnaround time  

1-4 days

CPT code and fee

• 86704 
• 86706 
• 87340 

ASPHL Fee Agreement Form

Resources