{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T14:32:15Z","timestamp":1787841135490,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major public health issue in India, with a significant burden of undiagnosed asymptomatic carriers. Identifying such individuals is essential to achieve the World Health Organization\u2019s goal of HBV elimination by 2030.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBV viral load among asymptomatic healthcare workers and patients undergoing elective surgeries and to evaluate the need for universal HBV screening in such populations. This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care center in Central India. Blood samples from 13,840 asymptomatic individuals were tested for HBsAg, and positives in HBsAg were further tested for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. HBV DNA quantification was performed using a real-time polymerase chain reaction-based method on selected samples.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Out of 13,840 individuals screened, 355 (2.57%) tested positive for HBsAg. Among these, 37 (10.42%) were HBeAg-positive, all of whom had HBV DNA levels &gt; 2000 IU\/ml. Notably, 48.64% of HBeAg-negative individuals also had significant viral loads. The average age of HBsAg-positive individuals was higher than negatives (42.38 \u00b1 16.58 vs. 37.52 \u00b1 18.92;\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.008). Males were more frequently infected (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.001).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study highlights a significant proportion of asymptomatic individuals with elevated HBV viral loads, particularly among HBeAg-negative cases. These findings support the implementation of universal HBV screening in preoperative and occupational health settings as a vital strategy for early detection, treatment initiation, and achieving national and global HBV elimination targets.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/jgid.jgid_92_25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T08:00:17Z","timestamp":1774684817000},"page":"41-44","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Hidden Burden of Hepatitis B: High Viral Loads among Asymptomatic Carriers in India"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Ashvini Kumar","family":"Yadav","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Virology Laboratory, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kirti","family":"Vishwakarma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Divya","family":"Namdeo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Virology Laboratory, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shubhra","family":"Tripathi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Priya","family":"Dixit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Virology Laboratory, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shashwati","family":"Nema","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Virology Laboratory, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Debasis","family":"Biswas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Virology Laboratory, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"R3-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0295670","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0295670","article-title":"HBV prevalence in sub-continental countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"18","author":"Hogan","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"Suppl 2","key":"R5-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S56","DOI":"10.1136\/gut.38.Suppl_2.S56","article-title":"Epidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection in India","volume":"38","author":"Tandon","year":"1996","journal-title":"Gut"},{"key":"R6-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.3390\/v17010034","article-title":"Asian perspective on hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus elimination","volume":"17","author":"Kaewdech","year":"2024","journal-title":"Viruses"},{"key":"R8-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"445","DOI":"10.1007\/s12072-009-9135-0","article-title":"Antiviral activity, dose-response relationship, and safety of entecavir following 24-week oral dosing in nucleoside-naive Japanese adult patients with chronic hepatitis B: A randomized, double-blind, phase II clinical trial","volume":"3","author":"Shindo","year":"2009","journal-title":"Hepatol Int"},{"key":"R9-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2694","DOI":"10.1002\/jmv.27545","article-title":"Combining the HBcrAg decline and HBV mutations predicts spontaneous HBeAg seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B patients during the immune clearance phase","volume":"94","author":"Xie","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Med Virol"},{"key":"R10-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.1186\/s12876-023-03023-8","article-title":"HBV pregenome RNA as a predictor of spontanous HBeAg seroconversion in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients","volume":"23","author":"Song","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Gastroenterol"},{"key":"R12-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.4103\/0971-5916.166598","article-title":"Seroprevalence of infectious markers and their trends in blood donors in a hospital based blood bank in North India","volume":"142","author":"Makroo","year":"2015","journal-title":"Indian J Med Res"},{"key":"R13-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"642","DOI":"10.4103\/ijmr.IJMR_468_15","article-title":"Seroprevalence and changing trends of transfusion-transmitted infections amongst blood donors in a Regional Blood Transfusion Centre in North India","volume":"146","author":"Rawat","year":"2017","journal-title":"Indian J Med Res"},{"key":"R14-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1138","DOI":"10.4103\/ijo.IJO_472_17","article-title":"Comparison of seropositivity of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and syphilis among hospital cornea retrieval programme-donors versus voluntary cornea donors at a large eye bank in Eastern India","volume":"65","author":"Basak","year":"2017","journal-title":"Indian J Ophthalmol"},{"key":"R15-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"312","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jceh.2014.12.004","article-title":"Tackling the hepatitis B disease burden in India","volume":"4","author":"Puri","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Clin Exp Hepatol"},{"key":"R16-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1039696","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2023.1039696","article-title":"Hepatitis B virus infection among the tribal and particularly vulnerable tribal population from an eastern state of India: Findings from the serosurvey in seven tribal dominated districts, 2021-2022","volume":"14","author":"Bhattacharya","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Microbiol"},{"key":"R17-20260330","first-page":"DC10","article-title":"Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among the tribal population of Attapady, Kerala, India","volume":"15","author":"Manjiyil","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal ClinDiagn Res"},{"key":"R18-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100122","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcvp.2022.100122","article-title":"Prevalence of hepatitis B virus and its predictors among volunteer blood donors in Jimma, Ethiopia, 2018: A cross-sectional study","volume":"2","author":"Mekonnen","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Clin Virol Plus"},{"key":"R19-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5031","DOI":"10.18203\/2394-6040.ijcmph20184773","article-title":"Seroprevalence and trends of markers of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors: A 3-year hospital based-study","volume":"5","author":"Alcantara","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int J Community Med Public Health"},{"key":"R20-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1174638","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1174638","article-title":"Seroprevalence and trends of hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus in Syrian blood donors at Damascus University Blood Center between 2004 and 2021","volume":"11","author":"Alassad","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"R21-20260330","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"879","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-1253(23)00197-8","article-title":"Global prevalence, cascade of care, and prophylaxis coverage of hepatitis B in 2022: A modelling study","volume":"8","author":"Razavi-Shearer","year":"2023","journal-title":"Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol"}],"container-title":["Journal of Global Infectious Diseases"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/jgid.jgid_92_25","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T13:43:09Z","timestamp":1787838189000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/jgid.jgid_92_25"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"references-count":16,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4103\/jgid.jgid_92_25","relation":{},"ISSN":["0974-777X","0974-8245"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0974-777X","type":"print"},{"value":"0974-8245","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-04-08","name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-12-02","name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}