A combined hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigen-antibody assay was evaluated for 115 seronegative individuals with occult HCV infection. The assay was reactive in one patient and negative to weakly reactive in three others (all four gave indeterminate results by supplemental assay) but failed to detect HCV in the remaining patients. Despite increased sensitivity the combined assay does not improve s...

BACKGROUND Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is frequently reported in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. An association between OBI and more liver damage, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and reduced response to interferon therapy in patients with HCV infection is suggested. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of occult HBV,...

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is defined as the detection of HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the serum or liver tissue of individuals who test negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). We undertook a prospective study to evaluate the significance and course of occult HBV in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). A...

OBJECTIVES To determine the risk for bacteremia, in the post-Haemophilus influenzae type b era, in a prospective cohort of well-appearing febrile children 3 to 36 months of age with no obvious source of infection; and to compare the predictive abilities of objective criteria in identification of children with occult pneumococcal bacteremia from those at risk. DESIGN All children seen from 199...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Non-detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope protein (hepatitis B surface antigen, HBsAg) in a chronically HBV infected individual has been described as occult infection. One possible reason for this phenotype is alteration in large (L-HBsAg) to small (S-HBsAg) envelope protein ratio associated with reduced or non secretion of HBsAg. This results in quantitative lev...

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 ...

INTRODUCTION Persistence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome in individuals negative for the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) reflects occult infection. The aim of this study was to identify occult HBV infection among hemodialysis patients at 5 clinics in Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, between August 2006 and August 2007. METHODS Serum samples underwent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to...

PURPOSE The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular characteristics of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in 'anti-HBc alone' subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-four patients with 'anti-HBc alone' and 20 control patients diagnosed with HBV were analyzed regarding S and pre-S gene mutations. All specimens were analyzed for HBs Ag, anti-HBc, and anti-HBs. For specimens with ...

INTRODUCTION Anti-hepatitis B core antibody (Anti-HBc) alone is defined as the presence of anti-HBc in the absence of HBsAg and anti-HBs. The significance of this serological pattern as a predicting factor for occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains largely unknown. This study aimed to assess the significance of anti-HBc alone in predicting occult HBV infection in high-risk and low-ris...

Background and Aim: Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an incompletely understood condition. There no data about occult HBV in sero-discordant couples. We attempted to find out the prevalence of OBI this cohort formulate guidelines for vaccination. Methods: 40 couples were enrolled. DNA (quantitative), Anti HBc HBs titre (quantitative) done. was defined as positivity without detectable...