Intrahepatic hepatitis B virus replication and liver histology in subjects with occult hepatitis B infection

We studied the intrahepatic hepatitis B virus (HBV) replicative status in 40 people with occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) and 40 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Intrahepatic HBV DNA, covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), and pre-genomic RNA (pgRNA) were quantified. Patients with OBI had median necroinflammation and fibrosis scores of 1 and 0, respectively. Intrahepatic total HBV DNA, cccDNA and pgRNA were detectable in 30 (77%), one (3%) and five (13%) of the participants with OBI, respectively. People with OBI had lower median intrahepatic total HBV DNA than the patients with CHB (p < 0.0001). They had nearly normal liver histology and low intrahepatic HBV replication. Clinical Microbiology and Infection (C) 2015 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.