ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients who lack detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is called occult hepatitis B infection. Such infections have been frequently identified in patients with chronic hepatitis Cliver disease, but their prevalence is not known. Methods: 207 patients with chronic hepatitis C who were HCV -RNA and antiHCV positive were stu...

introduction: hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection is a major public health problem which influences about 170 million people worldwide. different types of vaccines have been designed using hcv structural proteins to control the viral infection. the core nucleocapsid protein is one of the most conserved proteins and a desirable target for hcv vaccines, especially the protein-based vaccines. in cur...

In this cross sectional anonymous study, blood samples of 285 dentists and Physicians were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag), hepatitis B envelope Ag (HBe Ag), antibodies to: hepatitis B suface (anti-HBs), hepatitis B core Ag (anti-HBc) and hepatitis B envelope Ag (anti-HBe) by ELISA-3 and antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) by ELISA-3 and immunoblotting tests. The results su...

OBJECTIVES Liver grafts from hepatitis B surface antigen-negative and anti-core antibody-positive donors are safe for liver transplant. However, the use of hepatitis B surface antigen-positive liver donors in liver transplants is controversial. We assessed the safety and effectiveness of liver transplants using hepatitis B surface antigen-positive liver grafts to patients with diseases related ...

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 hb...

Background: Approximately 600,000 deaths occur every year as a result of the acute and chronic consequences of hepatitis B virus infection. Ten different hepatitis B virus genotypes have been identified with distinct geographical distributions. Different clinical outcomes, including the rate of mutations, development of hepatocellular carcinoma, chronicity, response to treatment, transplantatio...

BACKGROUND Viral hepatitis is a serious health burden worldwide. To date, few reports have addressed the prevalence of hepatitis A, B, C, and E in China. Therefore, the general epidemiological parameters of viral hepatitis remain unknown. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this cross-sectional study, we performed a serological prevalence analysis of viral hepatitis A, B, C, and E in 8,762 randomly selecte...

A sensitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) specific for hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBcAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) was developed. We designated the precore/core gene products as hepatitis B virus (HBV) core-related antigens (HBcrAg). In order to detect HBcrAg even in anti-HBc/e antibody-positive specimens, the specimens were pretreated in detergents. The antibodies are inactivated by th...

Background: Genomic studies of hepatitis B virus (HBV) diversity are becoming increasingly significant to understand how HBV mutations interact with a wide spectrum clinical and pathological disorders. Objective: This study focused on identifying genotypes determining the status pre-core (PC) core promoter (CP) mutants. Methods: Nested polymerase chain reaction was used identify viral 100 patie...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in fulminant hepatitis remains controversial. This study was conducted to investigate the risk of fulminant hepatitis C in relation to HCV genotypes and concurrent infection of other viruses. PATIENTS 109 HCV RNA positive patients from 334 consecutive cases hospitalised to a medical centre in northern Taiwan for overt acute viral hepatitis w...