The diagnosis of hepatitis B can be made only with specific hepatitis B virus blood tests. These help to understand if you have a new (acute), ongoing (chronic) or past infection. Hepatitis B infection may have occurred months or years ago. The incubation or 'window' period (45-180 days) is the time between being exposed to the virus and it first being possible to find it by testing blood. If you think you have been exposed to hepatitis B, early testing is recommended.
Some people are tested because of their occupation, e.g. healthcare workers.
All pregnant women in the UK are routinely offered screening.
Having a hepatitis B test in itself does not affect current or future insurance policies, however a positive result may.