METHOD OF DETECTING HEPATITIS B VARIANTS HAVING DELETIONS WITHIN THE X REGION OF THE VIRUS GENOME

摘要

The present invention provides methods for the detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in atypical infections by simultaneously detecting antibodies against the X and polymerase gene products of HBV. Further, the present invention provides methods for the detection of HBV in atypical infections in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay employing selected primers. These primers allow the detection of a specific class of HBV variants. Such methods are useful for demonstrating the presence of productive virus infection and may prove useful in monitoring therapeutics.