What can be revealed by extending the sensitivity of HBsAg detection to below the present limit?

Maynard, 1990, Hepatitis B: global importance and need for control, Vaccine, 8, S18, 10.1016/0264-410X(90)90209-5 Kane, 1995, Global programme for control of hepatitis B infection, Vaccine, 13, S47, 10.1016/0264-410X(95)80050-N Lee, 1997, Hepatitis B virus infection, N Engl J Med, 337, 1733, 10.1056/NEJM199712113372406 Brechot, 1985, Hepatitis B virus DNA in patients with chronic liver disease and negative tests for hepatitis B surface antigen, N Engl J Med, 312, 270, 10.1056/NEJM198501313120503 Torbenson, 2002, Occult hepatitis B, Lancet Infect Dis, 2, 479, 10.1016/S1473-3099(02)00345-6 Matsumoto, 2001, Analysis of HBV infection after blood transfusion in Japan through investigation of a comprehensive donor specimen repository, Transfusion, 41, 878, 10.1046/j.1537-2995.2001.41070878.x Matsuo, 1998, Highly sensitive hepatitis B surface antigen detection by measuring stable nitroxide radical formation with ESR spectroscopy, Free Radic Biol Med, 25, 929, 10.1016/S0891-5849(98)00125-7 Aoki, 2002, Clinical significance of a highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay of hepatitis B surface antigen using a novel electron spin resonance technique, J Med Virol, 66, 166, 10.1002/jmv.2126 Aoyama, 1998, A novel ESR method for horseradish peroxidase activity using a combination of p-acetamdophenol and hydroxylamine, and its application to enzyme immunoassays, Anal Sci, 14, 1107, 10.2116/analsci.14.1107 Mukaide, 2003, Development of real-time detection direct test for hepatitis B virus and comparison with two commercial tests using the WHO international standard, J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 18, 1264, 10.1046/j.1440-1746.2003.03204.x Sakugawa, 2003, Monitoring low level hepatitis B virus by a newly developed sensitive test, Hepatol Res, 26, 281, 10.1016/S1386-6346(03)00157-8 Tsurimoto, 1987, Stable expression and replication of hepatitis B virus genome in an integrated state in a human hepatoma cell line transfected with the cloned viral DNA, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 84, 444, 10.1073/pnas.84.2.444 Uchida, 1994, “Silent” hepatitis B virus mutants are responsible for non-A, non-B, non-C, non-D, non-E hepatitis, Microbiol Immunol, 38, 281, 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1994.tb01777.x Allain, 2004, Occult hepatitis B virus infection, Transfus Clin Biol, 11, 18, 10.1016/j.tracli.2003.11.007 Raimondo, 2007, Occult hepatitis B virus infection, J Hepatol, 46, 160, 10.1016/j.jhep.2006.10.007 Grethe, 1998, Characterization of unusual escape variants of hepatitis B virus isolated from a hepatitis B surface antigen-negative subject, J Virol, 72, 7692, 10.1128/JVI.72.9.7692-7696.1998 Brechot, 2001, Persistent hepatitis B virus infection in subjects without hepatitis B surface antigen: clinically significant or purely occult?, Hepatology, 34, 194, 10.1053/jhep.2001.25172 Chaudhuri, 2004, Occult hepatitis B virus infection in chronic liver disease: full-length genome and analysis of mutant surface promoter, Gastroenterology, 127, 1356, 10.1053/j.gastro.2004.08.003 Adachi, 1992, Clearance of HBsAg in seven patients with chronic hepatitis B, Hepatology, 16, 1334, 10.1002/hep.1840160605 de Franchis, 1993, The natural history of asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen carriers, Ann Int Med, 118, 191, 10.7326/0003-4819-118-3-199302010-00006 Kao, 2002, Global control of hepatitis B virus infection, Lancet Infect Dis, 2, 395, 10.1016/S1473-3099(02)00315-8 Gandhi, 2000, Hepatitis B virions isolated with antibodies to the pre-S1 domain reveal occult viremia by PCR in Alaska Native HBV carriers who have seroconverted, Transfusion, 40, 910, 10.1046/j.1537-2995.2000.40080910.x Thiers, 1988, Transmission of hepatitis B from hepatitis-B-seronegative subjects, Lancet, 2, 1273, 10.1016/S0140-6736(88)92891-7 Torbenson, 2004, High prevalence of occult hepatitis B in Baltimore injection drug users, Hepatology, 39, 51, 10.1002/hep.20025