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The Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services screens for Hepatitis B antibodies using the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay method. This test does not inform on the genotypic characteristics of the virus or the actual presence of the virus in blood. This study therefore sought to determine the serologic and genotypic profiles of HBV circulating among the voluntary blood donors in Nairobi.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Blood samples were collected in plain and EDTA vacutainers and tested for the Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). HBV DNA was then extracted from plasma, its overlapping P\/S gene amplified and sequenced. The resulting sequences were used to analyze for the circulating genotypes and mutations within the P and S genes. Bivariate statistical analysis was used to determine the association between demographic factors and HBV infection.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>A seroprevalence of 2.3% (n\u2009=\u20097) was reported. The age group 19\u201328\u00a0years was significantly associated with HBV infection. Nine samples were positive for HBV DNA; these included 2 HBsAg positive samples and 7 HBsAg negative samples. Genotype A, sub genotype A1 was found to be exclusively prevalent while a number of mutations were reported in the \u201ca\u201d determinant segment of the major hydrophilic region of the S gene associated with antibody escape. RT mutations including mutation rt181T in the P gene conferring resistance against Lamivudine and other \u029f-nucleoside drugs were detected.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>There is a high prevalence of occult HBV infections among these blood donors and therefore the testing platform currently in use requires revision.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12985-020-01447-2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,13]],"date-time":"2020-11-13T17:02:47Z","timestamp":1605286967000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Seroprevalence and genotypic characterization of HBV among low risk voluntary blood donors in Nairobi, Kenya"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8029-9916","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patrick Okoti","family":"Aluora","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Margaret Wangui","family":"Muturi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Gachara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"1447_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0129247","volume":"268","author":"G Kerubo","year":"2015","unstructured":"Kerubo G, Khamadi S, Okoth V, Madise N, Ezeh A, Hepatitis B. 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In addition, authorization was sought and obtained from the Directorate of the national blood transfusion Services and research permit obtained from the National Commission of science, technology and innovation. Additionally, written informed consent was sought from each voluntary blood donor who chose to participate in the study aged between 18 and 60\u00a0years. Voluntary blood donors were not coerced nor remunerated to take part in the study. During data collection, the donors\u2019 identity was coded using special numbers to ensure their personal data does not lead to their identification.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethical approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare that they have no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"176"}}