SynthesisScientific reports2025
Global prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection in HBcAb-positive individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Occult hepatitis B and risk of reactivation following switch to non-hepatitis B virus-active antiretroviral therapy in people with HIV.AIDS (London, England) · 2026Review
- Genetic Diversity, Occult Hepatitis B, and Mutational Signatures in Migrants from Regions with Varying HBV Endemicity: Importation of Diverse Viral Variants into St. Petersburg, Russia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Many people worldwide test negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) but positive for hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb), posing potential clinical challenges of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI), including viral reactivation and transmission. Understanding these scope of this issue is crucial, yet comprehensive data on OBI prevalence in this group is lacking. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the global prevalence of OBI among HBsAg-negative, HBcAb-positive individuals and explore factors related to variations in this prevalence. A comprehensive search of published studies was conducted using electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library Central, from January 1990 to January 12, 2025. The focus was on studies evaluating the prevalence of OBI in the hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb)-positive general population. The search was limited to articles published in English. Among 48 studies with 21,783 participants, 44 studies (92%) used blood samples and 4 studies (8%) used liver tissue samples. The estimated OBI prevalence was 7% in HBcAb-positive and 2% in HBcAb-negative groups using blood samples, and 66% in HBcAb-positive and 0% in HBcAb-negative groups using liver tissue. OBI prevalence was higher in regions with high HBV endemicity compared to low-endemicity regions. The prevalence of OBI did not differ significantly between individuals with and without HBsAb within the HBcAb-positive group. OBI is found in a substantial proportion of HBsAg-negative/HBcAb-positive individuals, particularly when assessed in liver tissue, where prevalence may exceed 50%. Our findings indicate that the prevalence of OBI is higher in HBV endemic regions, and that HBsAb does not confer complete protection against OBI. Future research should aim to enhance OBI diagnostics and explore viral persistence mechanisms to improve clinical management and public health strategies.
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