Isolated hepatitis B core antibody positive among vaccinated cohort in Malaysia

• Published in: Annals of Saudi medicine Vol. 33; no. 6; pp. 591 - 594
• Main Authors: Hudu, Shuaibu Abdullahi, Malik, Yasmin A., Niazlin, Mohd Taib, Harmal, Nabil Saad, Alshrari, Ahmed Subeh, Sekawi, Zamberi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Saudi Arabia KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENTRE 01.11.2013; King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
• Subjects: Antigens; Cohort Studies; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Viral - blood; Drug dosages; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Ethics; Female; Health sciences; Hepatitis; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B Antibodies - blood; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - immunology; Hepatitis B Vaccines - administration & dosage; Hepatitis B Vaccines - immunology; Hepatitis B, Chronic - diagnosis; Hepatitis B, Chronic - immunology; Humans; Immunization, Secondary; Immunoglobulins; Infections; Laboratories; Malaysia; Male; Medical research; Original; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prospective Studies; Students; Universities; Vaccines; Malaysia; United States > US
• ISSN: 0256-4947; 0975-4466; 0975-4466
• DOI: 10.5144/0256-4947.2013.591

Hepatitis B core antibodies (anti-HBc) are detected in almost every patient with previous exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV). However, with this marker alone, one cannot understand the activity of the disease; therefore, this study aimed to identify the implication of isolated hepatitis B core antibody and evaluate the effect of hepatitis B vaccine booster in isolated anti-HBc among adults who received the HBV vaccine as infants. A prospective cohort study of vaccinated undergraduate students of University Putra Malaysia. A total of 408 undergraduate students who received infant hepatitis B vaccination volunteered for this study; 5 mL of venous blood was taken from the volunteers. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and core antibodies were tested using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit according to the manufacturer's instructions (DRG international Inc., USA). Molecular detection of hepatitis B viral DNA was performed using nested polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence of isolated anti-HBc among the vaccinated cohort was found to be 5.0%, out of which 80% had a hepatitis B surface antibodies (anti-HBs) titer higher than 10 IU/L, while 20% had less than 10 IU/L anti-HBs titer. All the anti-HBc positivesubjects had detectable hepatitis B viral DNA in their serum. Anamnestic response was found to be 100% among isolated anti-HBc with negative antibody. Isolated anti-HBc developed protective levels of anti-HBs after a single dose of recombinant hepatitis B vaccination. HBV DNA was detected in all isolated anti-HBc indicating occult chronic HBV infection with undetectable HBsAg.