Analysing Liver Histology in Relation to Elevated HBV DNA Levels in Immuno-Tolerant Phase of Chronic Hepatitis B Viral Infection Patients

Introduction : Chronic Hepatitis B viral infection is associated with significant health and financial challenges. An estimated 15-40% of the Chronic Hepatitis B infected patients would develop liver Cirrhosis and a quarter of which may result in Hepatocellular cancer. In Africa, about 65 million people are said to be chronically infected with HBV. Thus, Africa with 12% of the world’s population carries approximately 18% of the global burden of HBV infection. An elevated level of ALT is an important component in the consideration for treatment of CHB, however, the presence of normal level ALT levels with discordantly elevated HBV DNA levels may requires further evaluation with Liver histology. Method : All patients who were newly diagnosed with CHB infection and above 18 years of age were consecutively recruited from December 2019 to October 2020, into the study. Blood samples were taken for the Liver Function Test, HBV immunologic panel and HBV DNA levels. Liver biopsy was performed for 84 patients with variance elevated serum HBV DNA (>2000 IU/mls) and normal serum ALT defined as level