title: Occult hepatitis B viral infection among blood donors in South-Eastern Nigeria.
abstract: Hepatitis B virus infection is endemic in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria. Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) is a challenging clinical problem characterized by the absence of Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) and low viral DNA load. We aimed at determining the prevalence of OBI among repeat blood donors in Abakaliki, south-eastern Nigeria. Of 113 informed consented repeat blood donors enrolled into the study, 12 donors (10·6%) tested positive to both serological HBsAg screening, anti-HBc total and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA Nested PCR tests. One donor (0·9%) tested HBsAg positive, anti-HBC positive but Nested PCR negative. All donors were negative for HIV 1 and 2 and HCV infections. Of the 100 HbsAg negative repeat blood donors, 8·0% (eight donors) were HBV DNA positive by nested PCR method and anti-HBc total positive by ELISA. The median viral load, determined by real time PCR-Taqman chemistry, in the OBI blood samples was 51 IU/ml compared to 228 IU/ml of the HBsAg screen positive donors. The observed OBI prevalence of 8·0% corroborated with high endemicity of HBV infection in Abakaliki. We therefore recommend routine HBV DNA testing by real time PCR method on all sero-negative blood donations in Abakaliki and for a similar policy to be evaluated across the sub-Saharan Africa.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nna
authors.forename: Chinenye
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mbamalu
authors.forename: Ifeoma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ekejindu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D058345:Asymptomatic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058731:Blood Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
keywords: Blood donors,; Nested PCR,; OBI,; Occult hepatitis B infection,; Prevalence of OBI,; Real time PCR,; Viral load,; qPCR