indication of anti-hbc antibody screening and hbv-dna detection in diagnosing latent hepatitis b virus infection

background: in spite of available, and sensitive screening assay for detection of hepatitis b virus surface antigen (hbsag), occasional cases of post-transfusion hepatitis b virus infection are still observed. the aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of positive anti hepatitis b core (anti-hbc) and presence of hbv-dna in serum sample of healthy blood donors negative for both hbsag and anti-hcv antibody. we evaluated whether anti-hbc could be adopted as a screening assay for blood donation.   material and methods: two thousands sera negative for both hbsag and anti-hcv collected from healthy blood donors tested for presence of anti-hbc antibody. all sera positive for anti-hbc antibody were then investigated for determination of anti-hbc and anti-hbs titers, hbeag and anti-hbe antibody by enzyme immunoassay (eia). every sample that tested negative for hbsag but positive for anti-hbc alone or in combination with other serological markers was also examined for the presence of hbv-dna by polymerase chain reaction (pcr).   results: out of 2000 hbsag negative blood samples, 131 samples (6.55%) were positive for anti-hbc. hbv-dna was detected in 16 of 131(12.2%) anti-hbc positive specimens. the liver function test results were all in normal range except in 4 (25%) of 16 hbv-dna positive subjects.   conclusion: anti-hbc antibody should be tested routinely on blood donor volunteers, and if the sera become positive regardless of anti-hbs titer, the blood should be discarded. further testing for hbv-dna is appropriate to follow up the blood donor patient for hbv infection. iran j med sci 2005; 30(1): 28-33.   keywords ● hepatitis b virus infection ● blood donors ● iran ● anti-hb c ● hbv-dna