The Importance of Occult Hepatitis B Infection Screening in Pre-Transplant Evaluation

Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OHB) is defined based on the existence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in liver tissue or serum of the patients, in spite of negative antibody test result for hepatitis B surface antigen (1). Most of these patients have positive hepatitis B core antibody (HBc Ab) test result as the evidence of past HBV infection. Ramezani et al. recommended the evaluation of HBc Ab in hemodialysis patients for detection of OHB (2).