[Surveillance for occult HBV infection and HBsAg variants in blood donors].

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection status of blood donors in a southern city in China was investigated by immunological assays and nucleic acid testing. Overall, 17 (0.19%, 95% CI: 0.11%-0.30%) of the 9023 HBsAg negative samples were found to be positive for the presence of HBV DNA. "A" epitope sequences were obtained from 14 among them. Mutation(s) in aa124-aa147 existed in 6 (42.9%, 6/14) samples and 4 (66.7%, 4/6)were G145R mutation. Ratio of genotype C in occult donors (10/17) was statistically higher than HBs-positive donors (0/15, P<0.01), which implied that HBV genotype C leaded to occult infection more easily.