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      A low proportion of HBeAg among HBsAg-positive pregnant women with known HIV status could suggest low perinatal transmission of HBV in Cameroon

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          Abstract

          Background

          Transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) from HBV-positive mothers to their infants is common and usually occurs when the mother is hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive and/or has a high HBV DNA load. In this study, we determined the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBeAg among pregnant women with known HIV status.

          Findings

          A total of 650 pregnant women with a mean age of 26.2 years including 301 HIV-positives and 349 HIV-negatives were screened for HBsAg (Monolisa AgHBs Plus Biorad, France). Among the HBsAg-positives, HBeAg and anti-HBe were tested (Monolisa Ag HBe Plus Biorad, France). Overall, 51 (7.85%) were positive for HBsAg. The prevalence of HBsAg was not statistically different between HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women [28/301 (9.3%) vs 23/349 (6.59%); p = 0.2]. None of the 45 HBsAg-positive samples was reactive for HBeAg.

          Conclusions

          Our study indicates a high prevalence of HBsAg with very low proportion of HBeAg in Cameroonian pregnant women. Since perinatal transmission of HBV is mostly effective when the mother is also HBeAg-positive, our data could suggest that perinatal transmissions play a minor role in HBV prevalence in Cameroon. In line with previous African studies, these findings further suggests that horizontal transmission could be the most common mechanism of HBV infections in Cameroon.

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          Most cited references23

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          Effect of hepatitis B immunisation in newborn infants of mothers positive for hepatitis B surface antigen: systematic review and meta-analysis.

          To evaluate the effects of hepatitis B vaccine and immunoglobulin in newborn infants of mothers positive for hepatitis B surface antigen. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials. Electronic databases and hand searches. Randomised clinical trials were assessed for methodological quality. Meta-analysis was undertaken on three outcomes: the relative risks of hepatitis B occurrence, antibody levels to hepatitis B surface antigen, and adverse events. 29 randomised clinical trials were identified, five of which were considered high quality. Only three trials reported inclusion of mothers negative for hepatitis B e antigen. Compared with placebo or no intervention, vaccination reduced the occurrence of hepatitis B (relative risk 0.28, 95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.40; four trials). No significant difference in hepatitis B occurrence was found between recombinant vaccine and plasma derived vaccine (1.00, 0.71 to 1.42; four trials) and between high dose versus low dose vaccine (plasma derived vaccine 0.97, 0.55 to 1.68, three trials; recombinant vaccine 0.78, 0.31 to 1.94, one trial). Compared with placebo or no intervention, hepatitis B immunoglobulin or the combination of plasma derived vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobulin reduced hepatitis B occurrence (immunoglobulin 0.50, 0.41 to 0.60, one trial; vaccine and immunoglobulin 0.08, 0.03 to 0.17, three trials). Compared with vaccine alone, vaccine plus hepatitis B immunoglobulin reduced hepatitis B occurrence (0.54, 0.41 to 0.73; 10 trials). Hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobulin seem safe, but few trials reported adverse events. Hepatitis B vaccine, hepatitis B immunoglobulin, and vaccine plus immunoglobulin prevent hepatitis B occurrence in newborn infants of mothers positive for hepatitis B surface antigen.
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            HBV and HCV prevalence and viraemia in HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire: the ANRS 1236 study.

            A retrospective survey estimating the prevalence of hepatitis viruses B (HBV) and C (HCV) was conducted on samples taken in 1,002 African pregnant women (501 diagnosed as HIV-1 positive and 501 HIV-1 negative) participating in a clinical trial program conducted in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa). Hepatitis B markers studied were HBs antigen (HBsAg), and if positive, HBe antigen/anti-HBe antibodies and HBV DNA. Two third generation (G3) HCV enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) were used for primary HCV screening. All anti-HCV antibody-positive sera were assessed further with supplementary assays (one another G3 EIA, RIBA 3.0, and HCV RNA). HCV genotypes were also determined. HBsAg was found in a similar proportion among HIV-positive (45/499, 9.0%, 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 6.6-11.9) and HIV-negative (40/498, 8.0%, 95% CI, 5.8-10.8) women (P = 0.58). The diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B, based on HBV DNA positive results, was more frequent in HIV-positive women (26.7%), compared to HIV-negative women (9.4%) (P = 0.06). In the case of hepatitis C infection, after supplementary testing allowing the elimination of frequent false-positive screening results, a prevalence rate of about 1% was found, both in HIV-positive (6/501, 1.2%, 95% CI, 0.44-2.59) and HIV-negative (4/501, 0.8%, 95% CI, 0.22-2.03) women (P = 0.53). Of the 10 samples confirmed positive and assessed for HCV RNA, eight (80%) were viraemic and belonged to HCV genotypes 1 or 2. The relative high frequency of HIV/HBV coinfection in Côte d'Ivoire emphasises the need for monitoring the risk of hepatotoxicity by antiretroviral therapy in such patients. We propose an accurate and cost-efficient algorithm for HCV diagnosis in Africa.
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              Quantitative analysis of HBV DNA level and HBeAg titer in hepatitis B surface antigen positive mothers and their babies: HBeAg passage through the placenta and the rate of decay in babies.

              It is well documented that perinatal transmission is the major cause of chronic HBV infection in China. However, the mechanisms of HBV perinatal transmission are not defined clearly. It is not known whether hepatitis B e antigen can cross the human placenta, and the rate of HBeAg decay in babies with and without HBV breakthrough has not been studied. In this study, HBV serological markers were investigated in 95 hepatitis B surface antigen positive pregnant women. These markers were also studied in the babies at birth and at the age of 6 months and 12 months. The data show that 7.4% (7/95) children were infected with HBV during the first year after birth despite receiving passive-active immunoprophylaxis with hepatitis B immune globulin and hepatitis B vaccine. The surface gene fragment of HBV DNA was cloned and sequenced following PCR amplification in 7 cases of HBsAg positive babies and their mothers. All babies had the same sequences as their mothers, although two babies also had sequences that would produce an amino acid substitution within the "a" determinant. Furthermore, we measured HBeAg titers and HBV DNA levels by using Abbott AxSYM system and LightCycler-based real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR in 54 mother-infant pairs. Thirty-three mothers were HBeAg positive, and 21 mothers were HBeAg negative. Seventy percent (23/33) of neonates from HBeAg-positive mothers were HBeAg positive at birth compared with 0% (0/21) of neonates from HBeAg negative mothers. HBeAg was present at higher titer in the birth sera of the babies with HBV breakthrough than in babies without breakthrough. HBeAg was cleared from the serum in all 19 babies without breakthrough. In 17 of these 19 babies, the HBeAg was cleared within 6 months, and in two babies clearance took 12 months. The mean serum HBV DNA level in the mothers of the 4 infants with HBV breakthrough was significantly higher than in the mothers of babies who did not become infected. In conclusion, this data suggests that HBeAg can cross the human placenta, and disappears from serum within 6 months in most babies. HBV DNA levels in hepatitis B carrier mothers are associated with the failure of HBIG and vaccine immunization, and the additional influence of transmitted HBeAg cannot be excluded. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Virol J
                Virol. J
                Virology Journal
                BioMed Central
                1743-422X
                2012
                8 March 2012
                : 9
                : 62
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Virology Service, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Membre du Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur, BP 1274 Yaounde, Cameroon
                [2 ]Epidemiology Service, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Membre du Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur, BP 1274 Yaounde, Cameroon
                Article
                1743-422X-9-62
                10.1186/1743-422X-9-62
                3315739
                22401702
                e6ec26d5-ac42-4724-9e0e-45545d2d7374
                Copyright ©2012 Kfutwah et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 29 September 2011
                : 8 March 2012
                Categories
                Short Report

                Microbiology & Virology
                hbsag,hepatitis b virus,hiv,hbeag,pregnancy,prevalence,cameroon
                Microbiology & Virology
                hbsag, hepatitis b virus, hiv, hbeag, pregnancy, prevalence, cameroon

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