title: Occult HBV infection status among chronic hepatitis C and hemodialysis patients in Northeastern Egypt: regional and national overview.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is considered to be one of the major risks for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on regular hemodialysis (HD) and patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study compared the prevalence of OBI among these two high-risk groups in the Suez Canal region, Northeastern Egypt, to obtain a better national overview of the magnitude of OBI in this region.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum samples were collected from 165 HD patients and 210 chronic HCV-infected patients. Anti-HCV antibody, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), total hepatitis B core (anti-HBc) antibody, and hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HCV RNA was detected using a quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay, and HBV was detected using a nested PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients were negative for HBsAg. A total of 49.1% and 25.2% of the patients in the HD and HCV groups, respectively, were anti-HBc-positive. In addition, more anti-HBs-positive patients were detected in the HD group compared to the HCV group (52.1% and 11.4%, respectively). Three cases were positive for HBV DNA in the HD group, while eighteen positive cases were detected in the HCV group. Both study groups showed significant differences in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level as well as anti-HBc, anti-HBs and HBV-DNA positivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  OBI was more prevalent among chronic HCV patients than HD patients in the Suez Canal region, Egypt, with rates of 8.5% and 1.8%, respectively. However, more precise assessment of this infection requires regular patient follow-up using HBV DNA detection methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mandour
authors.affiliation: Department of Endemic and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nemr
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Atef
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shehata
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Rania
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kishk
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Dahlia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Badran
authors.affiliation: Department of Endemic and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nashaat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hawass
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens