Altered Gut Microbiota was Associated with the Formation of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was a common blood transmission pathogen worldwide, which could lead to viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer and other liver diseases. Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) was a special form of hepatitis B virus infection, which might be due to immune response leading to suppressed virus replication. Gut microbiota might change the immunity status of human bodies, thus affecting the replication of HBV. To identify whether gut microbiota contributed to immune response, thus participated in the formation of OBI, we collected fecal samples from 20 ordinary blood donors, 18 HBV carriers and 24 OBI blood donors. After 16s sequencing, we found that the abundance of Faecalibacterium was significantly increased in samples from ordinary blood donors compared with those from the other two groups.