ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to establish a PCR for detecting of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in blood and blood products. A primer pair set was designed to amplify a 513 bp fragment in the S-region of the HBV genome in the first PCR and a 233 bp fragment of first PCR amplicon in the second PCR with Rubisco (internal control). In order to assess the specificity of the PCR results, all the samples were tested cross-reactivity or interference in the assay. This method did not result in cross-reactivity with the non-HBV (HAV, HCV, HIV, CMV, HPV 18&6b, parvovirus B19/ or HSV 1&2) positive samples and was unaffected. In case of the HBV spiked blood products such as the immunogloubulin and coagulation factors, the lower detection limit of this method for the HBV DNA is 62.5 IU/ml. The PCR method is fully established in this study and will be a valuable method for the detection of the HBV in a variety of blood products, particularly, those derived from starting materials with a high titer of virus.