Open AccessThe prevalence of occult hepatitis B infection among blood donors in Lagos, Nigeria
Author(s) -
Akinsegun Akinbami,
Mulikat Badiru,
Ebele Uche,
Charles Onyekwere,
Kamal Ismail,
Olusola Olowoselu,
Esther O. Oluwole,
Abubakar Suleiman,
Benjamin Augustine,
Hakeem Olaosebikan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nigerian medical journal/nigerian medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2229-774X
pISSN - 0300-1652
DOI - 10.4103/nmj.nmj_29_19
Subject(s) - hbsag , medicine , occult , hepatitis b virus , transmission (telecommunications) , population , hepatitis b , immunology , polymerase chain reaction , virology , antibody , virus , pathology , biology , environmental health , biochemistry , alternative medicine , electrical engineering , gene , engineering
In occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the HBV DNA is present in the blood or liver tissue in patients negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) with or without anti-HBV antibodies. Thus, the absence of HBsAg in the blood only reduces the risk of transmission and is not sufficient enough to ensure the absence of HBV infection.