What is the minimum virons required to be infected with Hepatitis B?

Question

I know it takes at least 25,000 HIV virons to get infected. so what is Hep B?????

Answer 1

The number required for an infection is a statistically calculated average. This means some people get infected with less, some with more. Additionally, this calculation is *not* done in people, but in laboratory animals. A scientist will take a solution of a known concentration of the agent, administer it to an animal, then wait to see how long it takes for the disease to develop. This is repeated until the solution is so dilute that none of the animals contract the disease.

As a point, given any animal population, like people, there can be a wide response to any given infection.

The infectious dose for HIV is not 25,000. For agents like HIV, where there is no data to conclusively support any opinion, where any exposure produces the potential for disease development, then the infectious dose is not given.

There is an excellent overview of the issue provided by the American Biological Safety Association by B. Johnson, a highly qualified person. The paper includes the following comment:

However, the term “infectious dose” is not found in medical texts.
The likely reason for this is that the host response to infection is highly variable, and is dependant on the interrelationship of many host, agent, and environmental factors, and ranges from nonapparent infection to overt disease.

Answer 2

While I can't give you the number you want, I can tell you that without the use of precautions the chances of contracting HBV (just like HIV) increases substantially - essentially a game of russian roulette, 50/50. To limit your exposure/risk don't share syringes and don't have unprotected sex!

Answer 3

How is this going to help you? Are you going to count them as they enter your bloodstream?