Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infections represent a major public health problem because of the ability of HBV
to cause a chronic carrier state. Even though chronic carriers remain largely asymptomatic, a large number
of these individuals subsequently develop cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinomas. Dried Blood
Spot (DBS) samples are a simple and inexpensive sampling method, especially useful for blood collection
in resource poor settings with limited access to diagnostic facilities. The main advantage of DBS samples
over routine blood samples is that only a small quantity of blood, is required. They are easy to obtain, stable
and can be transported to a reference laboratory atminimal cost. This study was to evaluate the feasibility of
DBS samples for direct amplification of HBV DNA bypassing nucleic acid extraction. Results obtained from
DBS samples were compared from those from plasma by routine molecular technique and also with those
from whole blood. On the whole results for DBS, whole blood and plasma samples for HBV-DNA semi
quantitative PCR monitoring, demonstrated very goodagreement. This study also represents the first report in
Egypt to evaluate the use of DBS to direct amplification of HBV-DNA and concluded that the use of DBS for
direct amplification of HBV DNA without nucleic acid extraction was reliable, specific, sensitive, cheap and
appropriate method to monitor the HBV infected patients. |
