Categorization of Hepatitis B Infected Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Centre, Puducherry

Hepatitis B infection is a common disease worldwide. Hepatitis B is one of the leading cause of malignancy and cirrhosis of liver. The diagnosis of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is mainly made through detection of serological markers. Our study aimed to detect presence of Hepatitis B Precore Antigen (HBeAg) and Antibodies to Hepatitis B core Antigen (HBcAg) among Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) positive samples detected in Microbiology laboratory during the study period. HBeAg, Total Anti HBc and Anti HBcIgM was detected using ELISA (DIA.PRO - ITALY) and patients were categorized based on presence of HBeAg, Total Anti HBc and Anti HBcIgM. Out of 180 samples tested positive for HBsAg, majority belonged to the age group of 41-60 years. With regard to gender, males were found to be majority and four percent were antenatal women. HBeAg was found in 20.6% patients indicating high infectivity. Out of 180 samples, 9.45% were found to have acute infection and 90.55% were with chronic infection. Among the patients with acute infection, 58.8% had high infectivity whereas in patients with chronic infection 16.56% had high infectivity. HBV Screening and categorization of positive patients are important to prevent chronic hepatitis, its complications among infected patients and to reduce the transmission of HBV in the community.