Toward routine diagnosis of hepatitis B virus desoxyribonucleic acid.

Although a multitude of hepatitis B markers are available to discriminate different states of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, there remains a need to detect the HBV DNA itself. The HBV DNA test is the only test that can quantify the number of complete virions. As shown in this review, the diagnostic value of testing for HBV DNA depends on quantification, and there are situations in which in vitro amplification is necessary and others in which testing for HBV DNA without preamplification is best.