Division of Molecular Research and Development, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Semin Liver Dis. 2013 May;33(2):113-21. doi: 10.1055/s-0033-1345714. Epub 2013 Jun 8.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection continues to represent a significant health threat, affecting over 400 million people worldwide. Historically, the diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) relied in detection of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and more recently realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. The advent of novel technologies and equipment for the identification and staging of the different stages of HBV infection has resulted in dramatic changes to patient monitoring and management. Through the use of rapid, quantitative HBsAg immunoassays, it is now possible to predict the likelihood of patient response to treatment as well as the clinical course of disease. Ultradeep sequencing technologies (also known as next-generation sequencing) overcome many of the traditional limitations associated with population-based sequencing approaches, and have provided significant insight into the viral response to therapeutic intervention and the molecular pathogenesis of CHB. The authors discuss recent developments in the molecular diagnosis of HBV infection, as well as potential advantages and caveats resultant of this rapid progression of technology.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染仍然是一个重大的健康威胁，全球有超过 4 亿人受到影响。历史上，慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）的诊断和治疗依赖于乙型肝炎表面抗原（HBsAg）的检测，最近则依赖于实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）分析。用于识别和分期 HBV 感染不同阶段的新技术和设备的出现，导致对患者监测和管理的重大改变。通过使用快速、定量的 HBsAg 免疫分析，现在可以预测患者对治疗的反应可能性以及疾病的临床过程。超高深度测序技术（也称为下一代测序）克服了与基于人群的测序方法相关的许多传统限制，并为治疗干预的病毒反应和 CHB 的分子发病机制提供了重要的见解。作者讨论了 HBV 感染的分子诊断的最新进展，以及技术快速发展带来的潜在优势和注意事项。
