Detection of HBsAg mutants in the blood donor population of Pakistan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Infection with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to be one of the leading healthcare issues in Pakistan, affecting over 6 million people. The existence of HBsAg mutants is well documented in many countries. In Pakistan, HBV screening in the majority of the blood banks is performed by Rapid Detection Devices or ELISA tests. These tests are designed to detect HBsAg, but may not detect the mutant HBsAg. Failure to detect the HBsAg mutant may result in the transmission of HBV infection from donor to recipient. Hence, there is a need to identify a HBsAg assay which can detect mutants in a country where simple and conventional HBsAg assays with varying sensitivity and specificity are used to detect HBV infections.

Material and methods

Three routinely used diagnostic

SUBMITTER: Farooq A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5699832 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature