AKT-3283

A 35-year-old man presents with a past medical history of abdominal pain and febrile illness. His liver function tests reveal an alanine aminotransferase level of 80 IU/l and a bilirubin level of 18 µmol/l. Serological tests for hepatitis viruses indicate that he is positive for hepatitis B (HepB) surface antigen (Ag), but negative for anti-HepB core or immunoglobulin M. What do these results suggest?