Booster immunity – diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B viral infection

Authors

  • Radka T Komitova Department of Infectious diseases, Parasitology and Tropical medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
  • Ani K Kevorkyan Department of Epidemiology and Disaster Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
  • Maria V Atanasova Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
  • Aneta V Ivanova Laboratory of Porphyrias and Molecular Diagnostics of Liver Diseases. Clinic of Gastroenterology, Saint Ivan Rilski University Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Elica Golkocheva-Markova National Reference Laboratory “Hepatitis viruses”, National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.9929

Keywords:

hepatitis B virus, occult HBV infection, anti-HBc alone, hepatitis B vaccine

Abstract

Introduction: Diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection particularly its occult form requires monitoring and repeat serological and molecular studies. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible relation between the case of a family outbreak of hepatitis A and the finding that a member of this family was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B.

Methodology: A mother and her two sons, one previously diagnosed with chronic HBV infection, were hospitalized due to suspected acute hepatitis. Serological markers for hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C were assessed. Additionally, HBV DNA was tested with a sensitive PCR. Hepatitis B vaccine was administered to the mother to differentiate resolved from occult HBV infection.

Results: A family outbreak of hepatitis A was confirmed, alongside a focus of chronic HBV infection. The serological profile for two brothers was HBsAg(+), anti-HBcIgM(-), anti-HBc(+), HBcAg(-)/anti-HBe(+). The mother was negative for all HBV markers except anti-HBc. HBV DNA was detected at a level of 461 IU/mL in the elder brother, 3647 IU/mL in the younger brother and was negative in the mother on two occasions. Her anti-HBc alone, having two sons with chronic HBV infection, and her lack of antibody response to hepatitis B vaccine despite being negative for HBV DNA, led to the diagnosis of probable occult HBV infection.

Conclusion: Our results confirmed that a vaccination approach could facilitate diagnosis of chronic HBV infection in the presence of isolated anti-HBc. If it were not for a family outbreak of hepatitis A, this unexpected family HBV focus would not have been revealed.

Downloads

Published

2019-03-31

How to Cite

1.
Komitova RT, Kevorkyan AK, Atanasova MV, Ivanova AV, Golkocheva-Markova E (2019) Booster immunity – diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B viral infection. J Infect Dev Ctries 13:255–260. doi: 10.3855/jidc.9929

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 03: March 2019

Section

Brief Original Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC