BACKGROUND Occult Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is defined as the presence of HBV-DNA in the liver or serum with undetectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Hemodialysis (HD) patients are at risk of acquiring parenterally transmitted infections. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of OBI in HD patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS A hundred HBsAg negative ...

A sentinel study on viral hepatitis is currently being carried out in the village of Cavunge in a semiarid rural region of the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. This study has identified individuals in whom anti-HBc IgG was the only serological marker for hepatitis B virus (HBV). This serological pattern may constitute evidence of occult HBV infection. This study Investigated the possibility...

BACKGROUND Data on prevalence and incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Rwanda are scarce. METHODS HBV status was assessed at baseline and Month 12, and anti-HCV antibodies at baseline, in a prospective cohort study of HIV-infected patients in Kigali, Rwanda: 104 men and 114 women initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) at baseline, and 200 women not ye...

In the recent issue of Middle East Journal of Digestive Diseases, we read with great interest the article by Bahari et al.1, “Significance of response to hepatitits B vaccine in subjects with isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen”. We wanted to specify some important matters related to the article. Initially, definition of occult hepatitis B virus infection is the existence of hepatitis...

In the recent issue of Middle East Journal of Digestive Diseases, we read with great interest the article by Bahari et al.1, “Significance of response to hepatitits B vaccine in subjects with isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen”. We wanted to specify some important matters related to the article. Initially, definition of occult hepatitis B virus infection is the existence of hepatitis...

conclusions this study showed a low rate of isolated anti-hbc and occult hbv infection in hd patients. it can be due to improvement of people’s knowledge about hbv transmission routes, hbv vaccination of hd patients and regular surveillance of hbv infection. results a hundredpatients with a mean age of 58.5 ± 16.1 years were enrolled in this study. in total, 56.7% were male and 43.3% female. an...

Occult hepatitis B (OBI) is caused by a persistent low-level replication of HBV. Like overt HBV infection, OBI can be associated with the integration of HBV sequences into the host genome and has a substantial clinical relevance for patients who are severely immunosuppressed for long durations. We present the case of a patient with a diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and OBI who develop...

INTRODUCTION The long-lasting persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genomes in the liver (with or without detectable HBV DNA) of individuals with negative for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) is termed occult HBV infection (OBI). The present study is a part of the follow up on efficacy of vaccination, 10 years post inception, and was designed to understand the prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B infec...

The risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation (HBVr) in chronic HBV carriers, in occult HBV patients or in acute HBV patients affected by psoriasis and treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents is a clinical practice issue to face with, particularly if the treatment has a long-term maintenance finality. The aims of this review are to examine the current knowledge on HBVr inciden...

We tested the frequency of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) among Egyptian healthcare workers (HCWs). We tested 132 HCWs for hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) by ELISA. HCV RNA was measured by nested PCR in anti-HCV-positive HCWs. HBV-DNA-positive HCWs were subjected to HBV genotyping. We included 132 HCWs who were...