scholarly journals High Rates of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in HIV-Positive Individuals Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy in Botswana

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Ryan ◽  
Motswedi Anderson ◽  
Ivayla Gyurova ◽  
Lilliam Ambroggio ◽  
Sikhulile Moyo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)–negative but hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA-positive infection—known as occult hepatitis B infection (OBI)—occurs in 1% to >15% of HIV-positive individuals in the United States and South Africa, respectively. However, there are no data on OBI from Botswana, a country known to be hyperendemic for chronic HBV infection and to have a significant HIV burden. Methods Two hundred seventy-two adults enrolled in an HIV treatment study of tenofovir/emtricitabine as the nucleoside backbone who were previously determined to be HBsAg negative were tested for HBV DNA at baseline and 1 year after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Results HBV DNA was detected in 72 of 272 (26.5%). Six individuals (8.3%) had HBV DNA levels greater than 200 IU/mL, and the highest viral load was 3280 IU/mL. Of 65 participants with OBI evaluated at 12 months after initiating HAART, only 1 (1.5%) had detectable HBV DNA. Conclusions Occult HBV infection is quite common in HIV-infected patients in Botswana, although its impact on the course of HIV disease progression is unknown. The suppression of occult HBV DNA levels by tenofovir/emtricitabine suggests an effective therapeutic option, although the long-term suppressive abilities remain unstudied.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluyinka Oladele Opaleye ◽  
Adeolu Sunday Oluremi ◽  
Adetona Babatunde Atiba ◽  
Moses Olubusuyi Adewumi ◽  
Olatunji Victor Mabayoje ◽  
...  

HIV has been known to interfere with the natural history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. In this study we investigate the prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) among HIV-infected individuals in Nigeria. Overall, 1200 archived HIV positive samples were screened for detectable HBsAg using rapid technique, in Ikole Ekiti Specialist Hospital. The HBsAg negative samples were tested for HBsAg, anti-HBc, and anti-HCV by ELISA. Polymerase chain reaction was used for HBV DNA amplification and CD4 counts were analyzed by cytometry. Nine hundred and eighty of the HIV samples were HBsAg negative. HBV DNA was detected in 21/188 (11.2%) of patients without detectable HBsAg. CD4 count for the patients ranged from 2 to 2,140 cells/μL of blood (mean = 490 cells/μL of blood). HCV coinfection was detected only in 3/188 (1.6%) of the HIV-infected patients (P>0.05). Twenty-eight (29.2%) of the 96 HIV samples screened were positive for anti-HBc. Averagely the HBV viral load was <50 copies/mL in the OBI samples examined by quantitative PCR. The prevalence of OBI was significantly high among HIV-infected patients. These findings highlight the significance of nucleic acid testing in HBV diagnosis in HIV patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Desalegn Admassu Ayana ◽  
A. Mulu ◽  
A. Mihret ◽  
B. Seyoum ◽  
A. Aseffa ◽  
...  

AbstractThe absence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and the presence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) in the blood of apparently healthy individuals may not indicate the absence of circulating hepatitis B virus (HBV) and might be infectious. Despite the risk of HBV transmission, there has been no report from Ethiopia examining this issue; therefore, this study determined occult HBV infection (OBI) among isolated anti-HBc (IAHBc) HIV negative and HIV positive individuals on ART in eastern Ethiopia. A total of 306 IAHBc individuals were included in this study. DNA was extracted, amplified, and detected from plasma using a commercially available RealTime PCR platform (Abbott m2000rt) following the manufacturer’s instructions. Data were entered into EPI Data version 3.1, cleaned, and analyzed using Stata version 13. Descriptive analysis was used to calculate prevalence, summarize sociodemographic data and other factors. From the 306 IAHBc individuals (184 HIV positive and 122 HIV negative) included in the study, 183 (59.8%) were female of which 142 (77.6%) were within the reproductive age group. DNA extraction, amplified and detection was conducted in 224 individuals. The overall OBI prevalence was 5.8% (5.6% in HIV negative and 6% in HIV positive) among the IAHBc individuals. The HBV DNA concentration among the occult hepatitis B individuals was < 200 IU/mL, indicating a true occult. This study reported the burden of OBI, which pauses a significant public health problem due to the high burden of HBV infection in the country. OBI may cause substantial risk of HBV transmission from blood transfusion, organ transplantation as well as vertical transmission as screening is solely dependent on HBsAg testing.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244947
Author(s):  
Adil Salyani ◽  
Jasmit Shah ◽  
Rodney Adam ◽  
George Otieno ◽  
Evelyn Mbugua ◽  
...  

Background Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is a phase of HBV infection characterised by the presence of HBV DNA in the absence of detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). OBI is of concern in the HIV-infected due to high prevalence and risk of HBV reactivation. The prevalence and clinico-demographic characteristics of OBI in anti-retroviral therapy (ART) naïve HIV infected adults in Kenya is unknown. Methods A cross sectional study carried was out at three sites in Kenya. HIV infected ART naïve adults were enrolled and demographic data collected. Blood samples were assayed for HBsAg, HBV DNA, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) and hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). Data on CD4 count, HIV viral load and platelet count were obtained from medical records. Results Of 208 patients, 199 (95.7%) did not report HBV vaccination, 196 (94.2%) were HBsAg negative, 119 (57.2%) had no HBV markers, 58 (27.9%) had previous HBV infection (anti-HBc positive) and 11 (5.3%) had OBI. All 11 (100%) OBI patients were anti-HBc positive. OBI patients comprised 19.0% of HBsAg negative, anti-HBc positive patients. There was no difference in clinico-demographic characteristics between the overt HBV, OBI and HBV negative patients. Conclusion This was the first study on OBI in ART naïve HIV infected adults in Kenya. The lower OBI prevalence compared to other sub-Saharan African countries could be attributed to lower HBV exposure. Most patients were HBV unexposed and unimmunized, outlining the need to implement guideline recommended immunization strategies.


Author(s):  
Muslim Dhahr Musa ◽  
Hekmat Kadhum Ateya

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among haemodialysis (HD) patients has been well documented. In addition to overt infection, occult Hepatitis B infection exists in which a patient who is diagnosed seronegative for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) shows positive HBV-DNA on using more accurate molecular methods. This study aims to determine the prevalence of overt and occult HBV infection among the HD patients who had attended Al-Nasiriyah dialysis centre during a two-month period. Materials and Methods: Serological qualitative detection of HBsAg by rapid test (strips), enzyme immunoassay (EIA, HBsAg) and molecular (real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR)) was conducted for quantitative detection of HBV in HD patients’ serum. Results: The prevalence of overt HBV infection among HD patients was 3.7%. The viral load of HBV positive patients was ranging from 5.85 × 101 to 2.16 × 106 copies/ml of serum with median (7.4 × 105 copies/ml). Occult Hepatitis B was not detected in any of the seronegative HD patients (0%). Overt infection was found more in males (80%) than females (20%) (P<0.05). Similarly, infection was found to be higher among patients who had blood transfusions (80%) than those who had not (20%) with statistical significant p<0.05. Although not statistically significant, the mean duration of HD was higher among HBV positive HD patients (17.6) than HBV negative HD patients (14.3). A dual infection of HBV and HCV was not detected in this study. Conclusion: Nosocomial transmissions at HD centres and blood transfusion are important risk factors. Besides serological screening, real-time PCR offers a safeguard against the spread of overt and occult HBV infection and determines the viral load of the positive patients.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury ◽  
Anna L McNaughton ◽  
Mohammad Robed Amin ◽  
Lovely Barai ◽  
Mili Rani Saha ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBangladesh is one of the world’s top ten burdened countries for viral hepatitis. We investigated an adult fever cohort (n=201) recruited in Dhaka, to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and to identify cases of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI). HBV exposure (anti-HBc) was documented in 72/201 (36%), and active HBV infection in 16/201 (8%), among whom 3 were defined as OBI (defined as detectable HBV DNA but negative HBsAg). Applying a target-enrichment sequencing pipeline to samples with HBV DNA >3.0log10 IU/ml, we obtained deep whole genome sequences for four cases, identifying genotypes A, C and D. Polymorphisms in the surface gene of the OBI case may account for the negative HBsAg status. We identified mutations associated with nucleos(t)ide analogue resistance, although the clinical significance in this cohort is not known. The high prevalence of HBV in this setting highlights the benefits of offering screening in hospital patients and the importance of HBV DNA testing of transfusion products to reduce the risk of transmission. In order to work towards international Sustainable Development Goal targets for HBV elimination, increased investment is required for diagnosis, treatment and prevention in Bangladesh.


Author(s):  
Matthew Olagbenro ◽  
Motswedi Anderson ◽  
Simani Gaseitsiwe ◽  
Eleanor A. Powell ◽  
Maemu P. Gededzha ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Rahil Nahid Samiei ◽  
Somayeh Shokri ◽  
Shahab Mahmoudvand ◽  
Manoochehr Makvandi ◽  
Heshmatollah Shahbazian ◽  
...  

Hepatitis B virus is a major public health impasse all over the world. Recently a new form of hepatitis B infection named Occult hepatitis B Infection (OBI) has appeared globally. The OBI is defined as the presence of HBV DNA in the liver and/or blood in the absence of detectable serum HBsAg with/without anti-HBc or anti-HBs. The prevalence of OBI has been reported in hemodialysis (HD) patients in different regions of the world. Thus, this study investigated the prevalence of OBI among HD patients. The cross-sectional study was carried out on 84 HD patients. These sera were checked for HBsAg, HBc-IgG assessment using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The DNA was extracted from the sera samples and tested for HBVDNA detection using Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (Nested PCR). The liver function tests including serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were carried out for all the HD individuals. 52/84(61.9%) of HD were males and 32/84 (38.1%) were females. The patient’s age ranged from 25 to 64 with a mean age of 52.4±15.2 years. HBsAg and HBc-IgG were detected in 1(1.1%) female. 2 (2.4%; a female and a male) patients were positive for HBsAg. 14/84 (16.7%; 6 female and 8 male) HD patients were positive for anti-HBc but negative for HBsAg, among them 4(28.6%; 2 female and 2 male) cases were positive for HBV DNA, indicating the presence of OBI in HD patients. Even distribution of OBI among the HD was found in 2(2.36%) male and 2(2.36%) female (P>.0.05). In the present study the moderate rate of 4.76% OBI has been observed in HD patients. The prevalence of seropositive OBI among the gender was 2(2.36%) male and 2(2.36%) female. The seronegative OBI have not been detected in the present study but requires further investigation. In this study the affliction of OBI in HD patients is not clear.


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