Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, September 1999, p. 768-770, Vol. 6, No. 5
1071-412X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Laboratorio de Biología de Virus,
Received 8 March 1999/Returned for modification 6 May 1999/Accepted 4 June 1999
Anti-hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg)-positive hepatitis B surface
antigen (HBsAg)-negative plasma samples from blood donors were tested
by nested PCR. DNA positivity was more significantly associated with
high levels of anti-HBcAg than with low levels of anti-HBsAg
antibodies. Analysis of a dilution of anti-HBcAg antibodies might
result in a more rational exclusion of anti-HBcAg-positive HBsAg-negative samples, reducing the number of donations discarded and
enabling more countries to incorporate anti-HBcAg testing.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratorio de
Biología de Virus, Centro de Microbiología y
Biología Celular, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones
Científicas, Apartado 21827, Caracas 1020-A, Venezuela. Phone
and fax: 58.2.504.1623. E-mail:
fpujol{at}pasteur.ivic.ve.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. | Clin. Microbiol. Rev. | Infect. Immun. |
|---|---|---|
| J. Clin. Microbiol. | J. Virol. | ALL ASM JOURNALS |