Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection & Blood Safety

Publication Date: 24 September 2025

Hours: 0.5

Course Description

In this lecture, Dr. Daniel Candotti provides an overview of the current state of clinical research on occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 2 billion people have been infected with HBV, and more than 820,000 deaths are attributed to hepatitis B each year. While antiviral treatments can suppress the infection, they often fail to completely eliminate the virus, leading to cases of subclinical, persistent infection.

Dr. Candotti explores several mechanisms by which the hepatitis B virus evades immune detection. He also discusses the implications of these occult infections for the safety of the blood supply.

Course Objectives

Review what has been learned about occult HBV infection (OBI) over the past two decades 
Evaluate the residual risk of transfusion transmission associated with OBI

Run Time: 0:24:44

Course Instructor Bio(s)

Daniel Candotti, PhD

Senior Research Scientist Program Leader
Institut Mondor de Recherches Biomédicales, Créteil, Paris, France

PhD in Virology, University Paris VI, France. Graduated in Virology, Pasteur Institute, Paris. Post-doctoral researcher for the French National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS) in the Virology Laboratory of Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris. Research Scientist Program Leader in the R & D Department of the NHSBT UK, and Visiting Researcher in the Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge. Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Blood Transmitted Agents, National Reference Center for Transfusion Infectious Risks, National Institute of Blood Transfusion, Paris, France. Currently, Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Virology, Henri Mondor Hospital AP-HP and University of Paris-Est, IMRB-INSERM U955-Team 18 “Virus-Hepatology-Cancer”, Créteil, France. Co-chairman of the virology subgroup of TTID Working party of the ISBT.

Research interest: molecular mechanisms of persistent blood-born viral infections, occult HBV infection, molecular epidemiology, blood safety.

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