[Prevalence of latent (HBs negative) chronic hepatitis B among patients of infectious disease cabinets in St. Petersburg outpatients clinics].

Aim: Evaluation of prevalence of latent form (HBsAg negative) of chronic viral hepatitis B (HVHB) among patients being examined in cabinets of St. Petersburg infectious disease polyclinics with chronic viral hepatitis diagnosis.

Materials And Methods: Laboratory investigation included HVHB markers determination: HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBcor IgM, anti-HBcor, HBeAg, anti-HBe, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in blood sera and plasma of patients. A total of 705 individuals were examined.

Results: In 25.4% of patients laboratory markers of hepatitis B virus were not present, 20.1% of patients were reconvalescent with anti-HBs antibodies in titers greater than 10 IU/ml and HBV DNA not present. Laboratory HVHB diagnosis was confirmed only in 384 (54.5%) of examined patients, most of these had HBsAg positive form of infection (69.0%) with HBV DNA in blood sera (60%). Only anti-HBcor or anti-HBe antibodies were detected and HBsAg and anti-HBs were not detected in 119 (31.0%) of cases. 6 patients of this group had HBV DNA in blood plasma higher than 20 IU/ml (1.6% of total number of patients with laboratory confirmed HVHB).

Conclusion: Standard laboratory examination of patients from hepatitis B infection (including HVHB) high risk groups should include a full list of markers (serological and DNA), thus allowing latent HVHB diagnostics, that, based on our data, amounts to 1.6% of examined patients with HVHB.