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Urine from chronic hepatitis B virus carriers: Implications for infectivity
Author(s) -
Knutsson Mikael,
KiddLjunggren Karin
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(200001)60:1<17::aid-jmv3>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - hbeag , infectivity , urine , virology , hbsag , hepatitis b virus , hepatitis b , hepadnaviridae , medicine , hepatitis , antigen , transmission (telecommunications) , virus , biology , immunology , electrical engineering , engineering
Horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) without apparent sexual or parenteral exposure is common in hyperendemic areas. In most cases, the route of transmission is unknown. To investigate urine as a potential source of infection, serum and urine from 56 chronic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers were examined for the presence of HBV DNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thirty‐four of the patients were anti‐hepatitis B e antigen (anti‐HBe) positive and 22 were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive. HBV DNA was detected in serum from 46 patients (82%) and in urine from 28 patients (50%). Most HBeAg‐positive patients had HBV DNA detectable in urine (91%), whereas urine samples from anti‐HBe‐positive patients were found to contain HBV DNA to a lesser extent (24%). When comparing HBV DNA from serum and urine by an end‐point titration PCR, a titration difference averaging 10 3 was found between serum and urine. A significant female predominance was also noted among the positive urine samples ( P < 0.05), which was not correlated to the presence of haematuria. Detection of HBV DNA may indicate active viral replication, and thereby infectivity. Because a high proportion of chronic HBV carriers were found to have HBV DNA in urine, it is suggested that irrespective of HBeAg/anti‐HBe status, urine should be regarded as a potential route of transmission and therefore be investigated further as a means of horizontal and nosocomial transmission of HBV. J. Med. Virol. 60:17–20, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.