Question

The child is generally healthy, but has been crying and fussing recently. Everyone at home suspects the child might be deficient in calcium, so we took them to the hospital for a blood test. The results showed some calcium deficiency, but the more serious issue is that the child is a carrier of the hepatitis B virus.

Answer

Hello, the infection of pediatric HBV carriers is mainly caused by horizontal transmission, which can occur due to blood transfusions, vaccinations, or close contact with HBV-infected family members. Young children under 3 years old are also prone to chronic HBV carriage due to their underdeveloped immune systems. Asymptomatic HBV carriers refer to individuals who test positive for hepatitis B surface antigen but show no liver inflammation symptoms and have normal liver function tests, with no changes observed over half a year.