Molecular and serological detection of occult hepatitis B virus among healthy hepatitis B surface antigen-negative blood donors in Malaysia
Background: Occult hepatitis B infections are becoming a major global threat, but the available data on its prevalence in various parts of the world are often divergent.Objective: This study aimed to detect occult hepatitis B virus in hepatitis B surface antigen-negative serum using anti-HBc as a ma...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Medical School, Makerere University
2016
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/53318/1/Molecular%20and%20serological%20detection%20of%20occult%20hepatitis%20B%20virus%20among%20healthy%20hepatitis%20B%20surface%20antigen-negative%20blood%20donors%20in%20Malaysia.pdf http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/53318/ https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ahs/issue/view/14827 |
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| Summary: | Background: Occult hepatitis B infections are becoming a major global threat, but the available data on its prevalence in various parts of the world are often divergent.Objective: This study aimed to detect occult hepatitis B virus in hepatitis B surface antigen-negative serum using anti-HBc as a marker of previous infection. Patient and methods: A total of 1000 randomly selected hepatitis B surface antigen-negative sera from blood donors were tested for hepatitis B core antibody and hepatitis B surface antibody using an ELISA and nested polymerase chain reaction was done using primers specific to the surface gene (S-gene). Results: Of the 1000 samples 55 (5.5%) were found to be reactive, of which 87.3% (48/55) were positive for hepatitis B surface antibody, indicating immunity as a result of previous infection however, that does not exclude active infection with escaped mutant HBV. Nested PCR results showed the presence of hepatitis B viral DNA in all the 55 samples that were positive for core protein, which is in agreement with the hepatitis B surface antibody result. Conclusion: This study reveals the 5.5% prevalence of occult hepatitis B among Malaysian blood donors as well as the reliability of using hepatitis B core antibody in screening for occult hepatitis B infection in low endemic, low socioeconomic settings. |
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