Evaluation of three hepatitis b virus detection protocols in blood donors

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA diagnosis plays a critical role in the transmission of HBV infections. Accurate protocols in HBV detection will reduce the spread of the virus from blood donors. Therefore, this research compared the HBV detecting potentials of three different HBV protocols in the virus detection. Blood from 200 donors at the University college blood bank Ibadan were sampled and tested for HBV using the ABON™ HBsAg Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Tests (strip test), Monolisa TM HBsAg ULTRA (ELISA test) and Huruian biology HBV detection kit (qPCR test). HBV positive samples were genotyped by sequencing to ascertain genotype identity. Results showed that of the 200 samples tested, both ABON™ HBsAg Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Tests and Monolisa TM HBsAg ULTRA (for ELISA) did not record any positive sample. However, Huruian biology HBV detection kit via qPCR recorded a total of twenty-three positive samples. Of the twenty-three samples, twenty were of genotype E while three were of genotype B. The results from this study showed that that qPCR is more accurate in HBV virus detection than ELISA technique and also HBV genotype E is the most common genotype isolated in Nigeria.