Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Apr 21;17(15):1927-38.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i15.1927.

An overview of occult hepatitis B virus infection

Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said
Review

An overview of occult hepatitis B virus infection

Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI), alternatively defined as occult hepatitis B (OHB), is a challenging clinical entity. It is recognized by two main characteristics: absence of HBsAg, and low viral replication. The previous two decades have witnessed a remarkable progress in our understanding of OBI and its clinical implications. Appropriate diagnostic techniques must be adopted. Sensitive HBV DNA amplification assay is the gold standard assay for detection of OBI. Viral as well as host factors are implicated in the pathogenesis of OBI. However, published data reporting the infectivity of OBI by transfusion are limited. Several aspects including OBI transmission, infectivity and its relation to the development of chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma have to be resolved. The aim of the present review is to highlight recent data on OBI with a focus on its virological diagnosis and clinical outcome.

Keywords: Chronic liver disease; Hepatitis B surface antigen; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Occult hepatitis B; Occult hepatitis B virus infection; Occult infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Candotti D, Allain JP. Transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B virus infection. J Hepatol. 2009;51:798–809. - PubMed
    1. Liu Y, Li P, Li C, Zhou J, Wu C, Zhou YH. Detection of hepatitis B virus DNA among accepted blood donors in Nanjing, China. Virol J. 2010;7:193. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liu CJ, Chen DS, Chen PJ. Epidemiology of HBV infection in Asian blood donors: emphasis on occult HBV infection and the role of NAT. J Clin Virol. 2006;36 Suppl 1:S33–S44. - PubMed
    1. Niederhauser C, Mansouri Taleghani B, Graziani M, Stolz M, Tinguely C, Schneider P. Blood donor screening: how to decrease the risk of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B virus? Swiss Med Wkly. 2008;138:134–141. - PubMed
    1. Calderón GM, González-Velázquez F, González-Bonilla CR, Novelo-Garza B, Terrazas JJ, Martínez-Rodríguez ML, Cortés-Márquez SR, Blanco-Flores JP, Rodríguez-Rodríguez A, Del Campo MA, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, and human immunodeficiency virus in multiply transfused recipients in Mexico. Transfusion. 2009;49:2200–2207. - PubMed