Asli Maryam, Kandelouei Tahmineh, Rahimyan Koroush, Davoodbeglou Foad, Vaezjalali Maryam
Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, IR Iran.
Hepat Mon. 2016 Mar 29;16(3):e34763. doi: 10.5812/hepatmon.34763. eCollection 2016 Mar.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem worldwide.
The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) and its associated risk factors, together with the molecular characterization of the virus in injecting drug users of Tehran.
The study consisted of 229 injecting drug users. Serum samples were collected and tested for the presence of hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HBV B virus DNA was extracted from the serum samples, and a fragment of the S gene was amplified using the nested polymerase chain reaction. The genotype, subgenotypes, subtype, and S gene mutation of HBV were determined by direct sequencing. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using the neighbor-joining method.
Sixty-four (28%) participants were HBcAb positive, 59 cases were HBcAb positive and HBsAg negative, and 5 cases were HBsAg positive. Hepatitis B DNA was found in three HBsAg-positive cases. Thirteen of 59 (22%) individuals were hepatitis B DNA positive. The phylogenetic tree of hepatitis B DNA showed the existence of genotype D. The only significant correlation was between sharing a syringe and OBI.
In comparison with the rate of HBcAb positivity reported in other Iranian studies, the rate was higher in the present study. There were a few variations, genotypes, and subtypes among the infected injecting drug users. Further investigations are needed to unravel the molecular characterization of OBI.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染是全球主要的健康问题。
本研究旨在调查德黑兰注射吸毒者中隐匿性乙型肝炎感染（OBI）的发生率及其相关危险因素，以及病毒的分子特征。
该研究纳入了229名注射吸毒者。采集血清样本，采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）检测乙型肝炎核心抗体（HBcAb）和乙型肝炎表面抗原（HBsAg）的存在情况。从血清样本中提取HBV B病毒DNA，使用巢式聚合酶链反应扩增S基因片段。通过直接测序确定HBV的基因型、亚基因型、亚型和S基因突变。采用邻接法构建系统发育树。
64名（28%）参与者HBcAb呈阳性，59例HBcAb阳性且HBsAg阴性，5例HBsAg阳性。在3例HBsAg阳性病例中发现了乙型肝炎DNA。59名个体中有13名（22%）乙型肝炎DNA呈阳性。乙型肝炎DNA的系统发育树显示存在D基因型。唯一显著的相关性是共用注射器与OBI之间。
与伊朗其他研究报告的HBcAb阳性率相比，本研究中的该率更高。在受感染的注射吸毒者中存在一些变异、基因型和亚型。需要进一步研究以阐明OBI的分子特征。
