Detection of hepatitis B virus infection: A systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
To review published methods for detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.


METHODS
A thorough search on Medline database was conducted to find original articles describing different methods or techniques of detection of HBV, which are published in English in last 10 years. Articles outlining methods of detection of mutants or drug resistance were excluded. Full texts and abstracts (if full text not available) were reviewed thoroughly. Manual search of references of retrieved articles were also done. We extracted data on different samples and techniques of detection of HBV, their sensitivity (Sn), specificity (Sp) and applicability.


RESULTS
A total of 72 studies were reviewed. HBV was detected from dried blood/plasma spots, hepatocytes, ovarian tissue, cerumen, saliva, parotid tissue, renal tissue, oocytes and embryos, cholangiocarcinoma tissue, etc. Sensitivity of dried blood spot for detecting HBV was > 90% in all the studies. In case of seronegative patients, HBV DNA or serological markers have been detected from hepatocytes or renal tissue in many instances. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and Chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) are most commonly used serological tests for detection. CLIA systems are also used for quantitation. Molecular techniques are used qualitatively as well as for quantitative detection. Among the molecular techniques version 2.0 of the CobasAmpliprep/CobasTaqMan assay and Abbott's real time polymerase chain reaction kit were found to be most sensitive with a lower detection limit of only 6.25 IU/mL and 1.48 IU/mL respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Serological and molecular assays are predominant and reliable methods for HBV detection. Automated systems are highly sensitive and quantify HBV DNA and serological markers for monitoring.
Mallika Ghosh, Srijita Nandi, Shrinwanti Dutta, Malay Kumar Saha, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata 700010, India.
Mallika
M
Ghosh
Mallika Ghosh, Srijita Nandi, Shrinwanti Dutta, Malay Kumar Saha, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata 700010, India.
Srijita
S
Nandi
Mallika Ghosh, Srijita Nandi, Shrinwanti Dutta, Malay Kumar Saha, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata 700010, India.
Shrinwanti
S
Dutta
Mallika Ghosh, Srijita Nandi, Shrinwanti Dutta, Malay Kumar Saha, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata 700010, India.
Malay Kumar
MK
Saha
Automated detection; Chemiluminescent immunoassay; Hepatitis B virus; Molecular assay; Serology