BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and the HBV surface (S) gene variants circulating in the South African population after nearly two decades of universal hepatitis B vaccination. STUDY DESIGN From a previous serosurvey, 201 serum samples with serological evidence of exposure to HBV were identified and t...

UNLABELLED Previous studies have suggested that prior exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may increase the risk of development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of previous or occult HBV infection in a cohort of hepatitis B surface antigen-negative patients with histologically advanced chronic he...

Recovery from an acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with loss of HBV DNA from serum, hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroconversion, and normalization of serum aminotransferases. These changes generally imply clearance of virus, but clinical observations have shown that reactivation of HBV infection can occur either spontaneously or a...

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...

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been reported among patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our aim was to evaluate the presence of occult HBV infection in patients with HCV-related liver cirrhosis (LC) with or without HCC in São Paulo, Brazil. Serum and liver tissue samples from 50 hepatitis B surface antigen-negative patients with HCV-r...

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...

We read with interest the article by Taheri et al. regarding the efficacy of Hepatitis B vaccine in those who lost Hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) during follow up (1). As the authors mentioned, a protective anti-HBs level developed in 24% of chronic HBsAg-positive subjects who had already lost their HBsAg after hepatitis B vaccination, and the remaining cases need to be monitored for occul...

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been reported in 30% to 50% of patients with acute liver failure (ALF) in small case series. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of occult HBV infection in a large series of ALF patients in the United States and the prevalence of precore and core promoter variants in patients with ALF caused by hepatitis B. Sera from patients in the...

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...