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summary.  Hepatitis B virus (HBV) may be present in serum even when negative for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). If routine screening of sera for anti‐HBV core antigen (anti‐HBc) is not done, low‐level HBV viraemia may not be identified. A study was done on the presence of HBV DNA in serum samples from Mexican blood donors negative for HBsAg. Sera from 158 volunteer blood donors, negative for HBsAg and anti‐HBs, but positive for anti‐HBc, were analysed using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HBV DNA was detected in sera from 13 (8·23%) of the 158. Specificity of the PCR‐amplified products was corroborated using Southern blot. Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis showed identical SSCP‐banding patterns for all 13 PCR products, suggesting similar cDNA sequences. Occult HBV infection was observed in approximately 8% of anti‐HBc only donors. The absence of HBsAg in the blood of apparently healthy individuals may not be sufficient to ensure lack of circulating HBV, and blood containing anti‐HBc only may be infectious until proven otherwise.

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