Geographical variation in prevalence of hepatitis B virus DNA in HBsAg negative patients.
AIMS--To study the geographical variation of the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative subjects. METHODS--A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to amplify the core region of HBV. The assay was able to detect 10 molecules of a full length HBV plasmid. RESULTS--When applied to HBsAg negative paraffin wax embedded liver samples from Italy, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom, a geographical variation in the prevalence of HBV-DNA positivity was noted. Two of 18 (11%) of Italian samples and 2/29 (6.9%) of Hong Kong samples were positive for HBV-DNA while none of the 70 cases from the United Kingdom was positive by nested PCR. Contamination by plasmid DNA was excluded using a novel method based on heteroduplex formation. One HBV-DNA positive case had idiopathic chronic active hepatitis, but the diagnoses in the other three HBV-DNA positive cases did not suggest any aetiological connection between HBV-DNA positivity and liver pathology. CONCLUSIONS--HBV-DNA could be detected in the liver tissues of a proportion of HBsAg negative subjects. The prevalence of such cases is related to the endemic rate of a geographical region. The use of HBV PCR on paraffin wax embedded tissues will be valuable for future studies on the molecular epidemiology of HBV.
University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Pathology & Bacteriology, John Radcliffe Hospital.
Y M
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Lo
E S
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Lo
W Z
WZ
Mehal
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M
Sampietro
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Fiorelli
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Ronchi
C H
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Tse
K A
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Fleming
D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005914:Globins / Q000235:genetics; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009692:Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D009692:Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes; D005914:Globins