Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy.
Validation & Verification, Core Laboratory, Abbott, 00144 Rome, Italy.
Viruses. 2024 Mar 7;16(3):412. doi: 10.3390/v16030412.
We investigated the frequency and serological correlates of occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) and the potential impact of a highly sensitive assay for HBsAg in subjects infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV), who are also at risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, often in an occult form. Samples from 499 patients with HIV, all HBsAg negative and anti-HBc positive, and 137 patients with HCV were tested for HBV-DNA, anti-HBc, anti-HBs, and HBsAg by a conventional and highly sensitive assay. HBV biomarkers were detected in 71.5% of HCV-RNA-positive, with a higher prevalence of cases positive only for anti-HBc in patients with HCV than in those with HIV. HBV-DNA was detectable in 0.6% of HIV-positive and 7.3% of HCV-RNA-positive patients. Among patients with HCV, four were positive for HBsAg and negative for HBV-DNA, bringing the rate of HBV-active infection in this group to 10.2%. Active HBV infection was not related to gender or specific patterns of HBV biomarkers but was higher in HCV patients coinfected by HIV compared to those infected only by HCV. Monitoring patients at high risk for HBV infection and reactivation may require testing for both HBV-DNA and HBsAg.
我们调查了隐匿性乙型肝炎病毒感染（OBI）的频率和血清学相关性，以及在人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）或丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染的受试者中，高灵敏度 HBsAg 检测对乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染的潜在影响，这些受试者通常处于隐匿性感染形式。对 499 名 HIV 阳性且 HBsAg 阴性和抗-HBc 阳性患者以及 137 名 HCV 阳性患者的样本进行了 HBV-DNA、抗-HBc、抗-HBs 和 HBsAg 的常规和高灵敏度检测。在 HCV-RNA 阳性的患者中，71.5%检测到了 HBV 生物标志物，HCV 阳性患者中仅抗-HBc 阳性的病例比例高于 HIV 阳性患者。HBV-DNA 可在 0.6%的 HIV 阳性和 7.3%的 HCV-RNA 阳性患者中检测到。在 HCV 阳性患者中，有 4 例 HBsAg 阳性且 HBV-DNA 阴性，使该组的 HBV 活跃感染率达到 10.2%。HBV 活跃感染与性别或特定 HBV 生物标志物模式无关，但与仅感染 HCV 的患者相比，HIV 合并 HCV 感染的患者更高。监测高危 HBV 感染和再激活的患者可能需要同时检测 HBV-DNA 和 HBsAg。
