A sentinel study on viral hepatitis is currently being carried out in the village of Cavunge in a semiarid rural region of the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. This study has identified individuals in whom anti-HBc IgG was the only serological marker for hepatitis B virus (HBV). This serological pattern may constitute evidence of occult HBV infection. This study Investigated the possibility...

I read with interest the recently published article by Ramezani et al. [1] in your journal. The issue is important but all the aspects and clinical importance of the study are not clear. According to an international workshop on occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) in 2008 [2], OBI is defined as the presence of HBV DNA in the liver (with detectable or undetectable HBV DNA in the serum) of i...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) share modes of transmission and their combined infection is a fairly frequent occurrence particularly in areas where the two viruses are endemic and among subjects with a high risk of parenteral infections. Moreover, the number of coinfected patients is likely higher than is usually thought. In fact, many studies have shown that HBV genomes ma...

The presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative individuals is defined as occult HBV infection (OBI). OBI is related in some cases to infection with variant viruses (S-escape mutants) undetectable by HBsAg commercial kits. More frequently, however, it is due to infection with wild-type viruses that are strongly suppressed in their replication activity. OBI ma...

OBJECTIVE To describe the etiology of hepatitis and identify occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION A 40-year-old man presented with severe abdominal pain and jaundice, a history of acute HBV infection that had cleared as well as the use of acetaminophen, methamphetamine, buprenorphine and marijuana. He admitted to having had unprotected sex with mult...

Introduction. Antitumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) agents are widely used for treatment of rheumatic and dermatological diseases. We conducted the systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of HBV reactivation among patients treated with anti-TNF-α. Methods and Findings. A comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, Scopus, and ISI Web of Knowledge databases was conducted. ...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) molecular profiles were determined for 44 patients who were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 and had antibodies to the hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), with and without other HBV serological markers. In this population, 70% of the patients were under lamivudine treatment as a component of antiretroviral therapy. HBV DNA was detected in 14 (32%)...

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most frequently transmitted agents in dialysis units. Occult hepatitis B is characterized by HBV infection without detectable surface antigen (HBsAg) in the patient's serum, a positive or negative HBV DNA marker result in the serum and a positive result in the liver tissue, which leads to the potential risk of transmission during renal replacement thera...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Although hepatitis B vaccine immunogenicity is high, certain risk factors such as age, tobacco consumption, obesity and genetic background have been associated with low responsiveness to HBV vaccine. We aimed to evaluate the role of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in non-responder adults to HBV vaccine in a low endemic area for HBV. MATERIAL AND METHODS A tot...