“…For example, anti‐HBc only was found in 0·5% of Swiss blood donors and HBV DNA in 3·9% (Grob et al ., 2000), while in Germany, the prevalence was 0·2% for the former and 7·4% for the latter (Grob et al ., 2000). In Venezuela, known to have an intermediate HBV infection frequency, overall anti‐HBc‐positive prevalence in blood donors reported is 4–5%, and HBV DNA has been found in 6% of HBsAg‐negative, anti‐HBc‐positive blood units (Gutierrez et al ., 1999). Finally, a recent study in the USA showed that 0·84% of US blood donors were anti‐HBc positive while manifesting negative on all other routine blood donor screening assays, and HBV DNA was found in 3·7% of the anti‐HBc only positive donors (Kleinman et al ., 2003).…”