Virological significance of low-level hepatitis B virus infection in patients with hepatitis C virus associated liver disease

The clinical and virological significance of low‐level viremia by hepatitis B virus (HBV) in hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected patients remains unclear. HBV‐DNA and HCV‐RNA were, therefore, quantitatively analyzed in livers and sera from co‐infected patients. HBV‐DNA and HCV‐RNA were quantitated using real‐time detection of polymerase chain reaction (RTD‐PCR), based on Taq‐Man chemistry, in 220 non‐HCV‐infected healthy volunteers and 93 HCV‐infected patients without detectable HBsAg. Serum HBV‐DNA was detected in 4 (1.8%) of 220 non‐HCV‐infected healthy volunteers and 32 (34.4%) of 93 HCV‐infected patients without detectable HBsAg. HCV‐infected patients displayed higher frequency of HBV infection than healthy volunteers (P