Day 2 🧪 Welcome back to 30 Days of ASCP: Ratchet Study Tips. Think of Hepatitis B markers like layers of the Earth. The antigens: HBsAg and HBeAg…. sit on the outer surface of the virus, just like the Earth’s crust. If you’re seeing them in the bloodstream, the virus is physically present in the body. No guessing, no maybe, that boy is THERE. The antibodies are deeper, like the inner layers of the Earth. They show up only after the immune system has responded, whether that’s from past infection