The study aimed to determine the prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection among HIV-infected persons and to evaluate the use of a pooling strategy to detect occult HBV infection in the setting of HIV infection. Five hundred and two HIV-positive individuals were tested for HBV, occult HBV and hepatitis C and D with serologic and nucleic acid testing (NAT). We also evaluated a pooled NAT strategy for screening occult HBV infection among the HIV-positive individuals. The prevalence of HBV infection among HIV-positive individuals was 32 (6.4%), and occult HBV prevalence was 10%. The pooling HBV NAT had a sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 100%, compared to HBV DNA NAT of individual samples. In conclusion, this study found a high prevalence of occult HBV infection among our HIV-infected population. We also demonstrated that pooled HBV NAT is highly specific, moderately sensitive and cost-effective. As conventional HBV viral load assays are expensive in resource-limited settings such as India, pooled HBV DNA NAT might be a good way for detecting occult HBV infection and will reduce HBV-associated complications.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvh.12858 | DOI Listing |
Viruses
January 2025
Department of Virology, Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland.
In the 1980s, Poland was a medium-endemic country, with one of the highest incidences of hepatitis B in Europe (45/10 inhabitants). Pursuant to the WHO guidelines, obligatory vaccination was introduced in 1994-1996 (as a part of hepatitis B prophylaxis for newborns), and in 2000-2011, all 14-year-olds were vaccinated. To prevent transfusion-transmitted HBV infection (TT-HBV), since the 1970s, each donation has been tested for HBsAg and, since 2005, additionally for the presence of HBV DNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Health Sci (Qassim)
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B and C Infections among Egyptian injection drug users (IDUs) and identify key risk factors contributing to their occurrence within this high-risk group.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 200 Egyptian IDUs were assessed. Participants were negative for Hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA, with anti-HCV positive patients who achieved sustained virologic response after treatment included.
BMC Infect Dis
December 2024
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Edo State University, Uzairue, Edo State, Nigeria.
Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health challenge in Nigeria, with high prevalence rates among pregnant women. The prevalence of overt and occult hepatitis B infection (HBI and HBI) among pregnant women was investigated to understand the burden and associated risk factors in this population.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 pregnant women.
Int Med Case Rep J
December 2024
Clinical Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is a recognized complication of long-term immunosuppressive or cytotoxic therapy, typically occurring during immunosuppression or within a few months after treatment. To mitigate this risk, hepatological societies recommend the use of nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA) for HBV reactivation prophylaxis, along with post-treatment monitoring; though, these recommendations are not universally consistent across different guidelines. We present a case of late HBV reactivation in a 76-year-old male with occult HBV infection who received rituximab-based therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Viral Hepat
January 2025
Department of Hepatology, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Taizhou People's Hospital (Jiangsu Taizhou People's Hospital), Taizhou, Jiangsu, China.
The diagnosis of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is influenced by factors such as the lower limit of detection (LOD) of the HBV DNA test. However, in clinical practice and scientific research, the lower limit of quantification (LOQ) is often misused as the LOD. This study aims to investigate the impact of misuse of the LOD of the HBV DNA test on the detection rate of OBI, as well as the risk factors for OBI.
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