Are specimens with "at risk" biochemical profiles more likely to be infectious for hepatitis B virus?

The potential infectivity of 640 plasma specimens with various biochemical profiles was directly assessed by hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA dot-hybridization. We found that specimens with "at risk" biochemical profiles typical of various forms of liver disease were not significantly more likely to carry HBV than the general patient population. Specimens containing HBV cannot be distinguished from non-infectious specimens by any simple biochemical tests, including aminotransferases and bilirubin. The only predictive feature of HBV-positive samples was that they were more likely to be labeled as "biohazardous" by the medical staff, but even this was not always the case.