Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Japanese Chronic Hemodialysis Patients |
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| Authors: | Osamu Nagakawa Yoshiho Miyatomi Yasuhiro Shigeta Emi Inayama Kouichi Murakami Takehiko Sakai Takashi Kouno Motoyuki Masai Kohji Shirai Toyohiko Yoshida |
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| Institution: | 1. Mihama Hospital;2. Mihama Sakura Clinic;3. Mihama Narita Clinic;4. Mihama Katori Clinic, , Chiba, Japan |
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| Abstract: | We investigated the prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Japanese chronic hemodialysis patients. Hemodialysis patients (n = 1041) were screened for occult HBV. The presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibody, and hepatitis B core antibody (anti‐HBc) was determined by various chemiluminescent immunoassays. HBV‐DNA was quantified in patients positive for anti‐HBc using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Among the 1041 patients, six (0.6%) were HBsAg‐positive and 218 (20.9%) were anti‐HBc‐positive. All HBsAg‐positive patients also tested positive for the presence of HBV DNA. Of 212 HBsAg‐negative and anti‐HBc‐positive patients, three were positive for HBV DNA. Our study showed that the prevalence of occult HBV infection in chronic hemodialysis patients from eastern Japan was 0.3%. |
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| Keywords: | Anti‐HBc Hemodialysis Hepatitis B virus DNA Hepatitis B Occult hepatitis B virus |
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