Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
2002-10-11
pubmed:abstractText
Anti-hepatitis Be (HBe) carriers are perceived as having low infectivity, with hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels far below those seen in the HBeAg carrier. However, the temporal stability of HBV DNA in anti-HBe carriers remains poorly characterised. UK Department of Health guidelines use HBV DNA levels to define whether HBV-infected health care workers may perform exposure-prone procedures. Two samples separated by 1-23 years available from 147 carriers were analysed for precore variants and HBV DNA levels. Among 15 HBeAg carriers, HBV DNA was maintained at high levels. There was a 5 log(10) fold reduction in DNA in 11 individuals who developed anti-HBe during follow-up evaluation. Proportional changes in HBV DNA levels in anti-HBe carriers were similar to those in HBeAg carriers, although there was a trend for changes in viral DNA to be more marked in anti-HBe carriers followed up for longer periods. Closer sampling in 20 anti-HBe carriers demonstrated large fluctuations of DNA levels over short periods. Serum transaminases and precore mutant status at the outset failed to predict those in whom HBV DNA levels fluctuated. HBV DNA was below the detection threshold (<400 copies/ml) in 36 anti-HBe carriers at first sampling and remained so in all but 5 of these carriers. Twelve individuals who were previously viraemic lost detectable HBV DNA during follow-up evaluation. While HBV DNA levels are found to fluctuate in carriers, our results indicate that once below the threshold of detectability, levels are unlikely to rise. This is an important factor when assessing health care workers for exposure-prone procedures.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0146-6615
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
68
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
505-12
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2002
pubmed:articleTitle
Evidence for a dynamic host-parasite relationship in e-negative hepatitis B carriers.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Virology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, United Kingdom. r.tedder@ucl.ac.uk
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't