These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: [High percentage of isolated anti-HBc-positive persons among prisoners].
    Author: Neifer S, Molz B, Sucker U, Kreuzpaintner E, Weinberger K, Jilg W.
    Journal: Gesundheitswesen; 1997 Jun; 59(6):409-12. PubMed ID: 9333377.
    Abstract:
    PURPOSE: Is the result "isolated Anti-HBc" higher among prisoners than in the normal population and can testing for HBV-DNA clarify the results? PATIENTS AND METHODS: In Berlin, 519 prisoners were serologically tested in 1994 for hepatitis-B and -C because of intravenous drug abuse and alcohol disease or signs of hepatitis. Beside virus antigen and antibodies, HBV-DNA was also measured by hybridisation technique or PCR. RESULTS: 50.3% of all individuals showed markers of hepatitis-B and 36.8% of hepatitis-C. 19.2% of persons with hepatitis B markers were positive for anti HBc only, i.e. more than twice as many than in the normal population. 90% of the isolated anti-HBc-positive Persons were also anti-HCV positive, which is nearly double the number of individuals with other patterns of HBV markers. Half of them were tested for HBV-DNA. Whereas the hybridisation technique failed to detect HBV-DNA, 36% of sera were found positive by HBV-PCR. CONCLUSION: This study shows again that the result "anti-HBc alone" is relatively frequent especially among prisoners. This pattern often seems associated with concurrent HCV-infection and in one third of the cases correlated with a chronic hepatitis-B. The result of an isolated anti-HBc should therefore always lead to further testing of anti-HCV and HBV-DNA by PCR.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]