Relationship between HBeAg and HBV DNA in patients with acute and persistent hepatitis B infection

The correlation between hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was studied in a number of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive serum samples which had been submitted for routine hepatitis screening. In patients with either acute or persistent HBV infection, a good overall correlation between HBeAg and HBV DNA was noted, although in persistently infected patients with chronic liver disease, 28% of samples with hepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe) were also positive for HBV DNA. Around 3% of the samples that were positive for HBV DNA were negative for HBeAg and anti-HBe while, conversely, 19% of HBeAg-positive sera were negative for HBV DNA. These results indicate that the presence or absence of HBeAg/anti-HBe may not necessarily reflect that of serum HBV DNA, particularly in persistent infection; this provides further support for the replacement of HBeAg/anti-HBe assays by detection of HBV DNA in the routine assessment of possible infectivity and chronic liver disease in HBsAg-positive patients.