Q: I am a 21 years old male. My blood group is O positive. I donated blood and got to know that I am carrying a virus named Hepatitis B. I tested my blood and this was confirmed. I want to what precautions should I take? What is the cure of this disease? How does it spread and can I marry or have sex?

A:Hepatitis B viral infection is one of the commonest viral diseases present globally. It is transmitted via blood (blood transfusion, tooth extraction, shared needles etc.) and sexually. The response to infection in an individual is governed by the interaction between the virus and the individual’s immune status. There may be an acute viral disease from which they may recover or go onto a chronic carrier state or the person may remain asymptomatic (but infective). Treatment is recommended for patients with evidence of chronic active disease (high aminotransferase levels in blood or a positive HBV DNA test or HBeAg positivity). Antiviral treatment may be effective in approximately one third of the patients who receive it. Patients suffering from acute hepatitis should be regularly monitored with blood tests to document biochemical improvement. Individuals who are healthy carriers should annually check liver enzyme levels while patients with chronic active hepatitis should be treated.