Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in Panje-Azar Hospital, Gorgan

Hepatitis B virus infection is a major health problem in worldwide. The prevalence of Occult and chronic HBV in hemodialysis patients is higher than standard in developing countries. People with occult HBV are negative for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) but positive for HBV-DNA. We aimed to evaluate occult hepatitis B infection in patients under hemodialysis in Panje-Azar hospital in Gorgan. In this study, taken place from 2009 to 2010, the participants were 100 hemodialysis patients with administration of complete HBV vaccination with negative test for HBsAg. After preparing 10 milliliter blood sample, HBV DNA testing was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mean age of the patients is 54.60 years. They are male (48%) and female (52%). They have been under hemodialysis for 48 months, averagely. There has not been any HBV-DNA in HBsAg negative patients under hemodialysis. The rate of occult hepatitis B infection in these end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients was zero. Results indicate that there is no any occult HBV infection in ESRD patients under hemodialysis in Gorgan, which is similar to some studies. The results could be justified by complete vaccination of the patients.