Recommending a Hepatitis B Test
As a professional, such as a GP, consultant, counsellor, nurse, addiction worker or clinician, your role in spotting Hepatitis B by identifying people who have been at risk and either offering, recommending or referring them for a test is vital.
Required Testing
The following groups should be tested for Hepatitis B:
- blood/tissue donors
- patients on haemodialysis
- healthcare workers who intend to pursue a career in a specialty that requires them to perform exposure prone procedures
- healthcare workers at six, 12 and 24 weeks following an isolated acute percutaneous exposure to blood infected, or strongly suspected of being infected, with Hepatitis B, and anti-Hepatitis B testing at 12 and 24 weeks.
Recommended Testing
Anyone with one of the following criteria should be offered a Hepatitis B test:
- an otherwise unexplained persistently elevated alanine aminotransferase (a liver enzyme, the elevation of which indicates inflammation of the liver)
- a history of injecting drug use
- a child with a Hepatitis B antibody positive mother
- HIV positive
- recipient of blood clotting factor concentrates prior to 1987
- recipient of blood and blood components before September 1991 and organ/tissue transplants in the UK before 1992
- a healthcare worker following percutaneous or mucous membrane exposure to blood suspected to be/infected with Hepatitis B
- received medical/dental treatment in a country where Hepatitis B is common and infection control may be poor
- had a tattoo or body piercing in circumstances where infection control procedure is suboptimal
- had a sexual partner/household contact who is Hepatitis B infected.
Find Support in Scotland
Search for Hepatitis B services in
your area.
Find out more
Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework
The Scottish Government has published the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework to tackle Hepatitis B in Scotland.
> Download Framework
