BACKGROUND Transfusion-associated hepatitis B viral infection continues to be a major problem in India even after adoption of mandatory screening for HBsAg by ELISA method. The high incidence of TAHBV is reported in patients receiving multiple transfusions. OBJECTIVE To study the seroprevalence of hepatitis B core antibody among healthy voluntary blood donors SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study ...

It is claimed that the possibility of non-specific reactions in ELISA tests for HBsAg has been substantially eliminated (1), though like any other highly sensitive immune test system, ELISA does still have the potential of yielding false-positive reactions. Such reactivity in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) hyperendemic focus of the Gizan Area of Saudi Arabia was encountered using a two-titer test ...

BACKGROUND Vaccination against hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) is safe and effective; however, vaccine-induced antibody level wanes over time. Peak vaccine-induced anti-HBs level is directly related to antibody decay, as well as risk of infection and persistent carriage despite vaccination. We investigated the role of host genetic factors in long-term immunity against HBV infection based on p...

We report here that compound heterozygosity for hemoglobin Korle-Bu (HbKB) and HbC (j36 Glu + Lys) is associated with moderate chronic hemolytic anemia with microcytosis. To understand the pathogenesis of this syndrome, we have studied the effect of Hb Korle-Bu (KB = 873 Asp + Asn) on the crystallization of HbC. We have previously established that fetal Hb (HbF) inhibits the crystallization of ...

Hepatitis B infection is a major global health problem. Sub–saharan Africa particularly affected. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence HBs antigen (HBs Ag) and assess hepatitis vaccine status among medical paramedical staff at Dschang District Hospital. A descriptive cross-sectional conducted Hospital from November 2018 June 2019. All were included, regardless sex or age, vacci...

We previously reported that circulating hemoglobin (Hb) CC erythrocytes contain oxygenated HbC crystals with little or no HbF and that HbF inhibits in vitro crystallization of HbC. We now report that HbS accelerates in vitro crystallization of HbC. Crystals were formed in 1.8 mol/L potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, at 30 degrees C and were counted in several time intervals with a hematocytome...

The titer of antibody against core antigen of hepatitis B virus in the immunoglobulin M class (IgM anti-HBc) was determined by an IgM capture assay of reduced sensitivity (30 arbitrary units). The distribution of titers among 235 acute hepatitis patients who were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive suggested that 600 U forms a lower cutoff value for acute hepatitis B. Clinically appare...

Over the past decades, the risk of HBV transfusion-transmission has been steadily reduced through the recruitment of volunteer donors, the selection of donors based on risk-behavior evaluation, the development of increasingly more sensitive hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) assays, the use of hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) screening in some low-endemic countries, and the recent implementation o...

The recombinant hepatitis B virus surface (HBsAg) and core (HBcAg) virus like particles (VLPs) have the ability to serve as carriers of foreign B cell and CTL epitopes. Different approaches have been used to couple the target epitopes, like the insertion into the primary sequence of the VLP, covalent and noncovalent linkage. Particularly, the non-covalent linkage was used to develop the vaccine...