RESUMEN
The prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the presence of human pegivirus 2 (HPgV-2) have not been examined in Cameroon, although HCV has been associated with HPgV-2 infections previously. Herein we aimed to characterize the burden and genetic diversity of HCV and the presence of HPgV-2 in Cameroon. Retrospective plasma specimens collected from N = 12 369 consenting subjects in South Cameroon from 2013 to 2016 were included in the study. The majority (97.1%) of participants were patients seeking health care. All specimens were screened for HCV using the Abbott RealTime HCV viral load assay and positive specimens with remaining volume were also screened for HPgV-2 antibodies on the Abbott ARCHITECT instrument, followed by molecular characterization. Overall, HCV RNA was detected in 305 (2.47%; 95% CI: 2.21%-2.75%) specimens. Notably, the prevalence of HCV RNA was 9.09% amongst participants over age 40 and 3.81% amongst males. Phylogenetic classification of N = 103 HCV sequences identified genotypes 1 (19.4%), 2 (15.5%) and 4 (65.1%) within the study cohort. Amongst HCV RNA-positive specimens, N = 28 (10.6%; 95% CI: 7.44%-14.90%) specimens also had detectable HPgV-2 antibodies. Of these, N = 2 viremic HPgV-2 infections were confirmed by sequencing and shared 93-94 median % identity with strains found on other continents. This is the first study to determine the prevalence of chronic HCV in Cameroon, and the discovery of HPgV-2 in this study cohort expands the geography of HPgV-2 to the African continent, indicating a widespread distribution exists.
Asunto(s)
Anticuerpos Antivirales/sangre , Monitoreo Epidemiológico , Infecciones por Flaviviridae/epidemiología , Flaviviridae/aislamiento & purificación , Hepatitis C Crónica/epidemiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Camerún/epidemiología , Niño , Preescolar , Coinfección/epidemiología , Coinfección/virología , Femenino , Flaviviridae/genética , Infecciones por Flaviviridae/sangre , Hepacivirus/genética , Hepatitis C Crónica/sangre , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Filogenia , Prevalencia , ARN Viral/sangre , Estudios Retrospectivos , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of the co-infection between the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the prevalence of factors associated with HCV transmission in a rural Cameroonian community. RESULTS: The mean age of the 174 participants included in the study was 30.3 (standard deviation = 13.26) years (age range 12-77 years). the prevalence of HCV/HIV co-infection was 1.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-5.9]. The prevalence of HCV and HIV were 6.3% (95% CI 2.9-10.3) and 6.9 (95% CI 5.2-11.3), respectively. Histories of scarification (62.1%), multiple sex partners (31.0%) and sexually transmitted diseases (66.1%) were the most common risk factors of HCV transmission in this study.
Asunto(s)
Coinfección , Infecciones por VIH/complicaciones , Anticuerpos contra la Hepatitis C/sangre , Hepatitis C/complicaciones , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Camerún , Niño , Femenino , Anticuerpos Anti-VIH , Hepatitis B , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Prevalencia , Factores de Riesgo , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
We evaluated the prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies in 516 plasma samples collected from HIV positive and negative patients from blood banks and urban areas of Cameroon. Among HIV-1 positive samples, HHV-8 seropositivity rate was 61% based on combined reactivity using both ELISA and IFA techniques. HIV negative samples showed 62% seropositivity rate for HHV-8 antibodies. Our results indicate a high HHV-8 prevalence rate in both HIV infected and uninfected individuals in Cameroon.
Asunto(s)
Anticuerpos Antivirales/inmunología , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Infecciones por VIH/inmunología , VIH-1/inmunología , Infecciones por Herpesviridae/epidemiología , Infecciones por Herpesviridae/inmunología , Herpesvirus Humano 8/inmunología , Adulto , Camerún/epidemiología , Ensayo de Inmunoadsorción Enzimática , Femenino , VIH-1/aislamiento & purificación , Herpesvirus Humano 8/aislamiento & purificación , Humanos , Estudios SeroepidemiológicosRESUMEN
Cameroon is a country in West Central Africa in which all four groups of HIV-1 (M, N, O, and P), some circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and unique recombinant forms (URFs) are prevalent. The CRF22 was initially identified through a novel URF strain, 01CM53122, and later defined from two additional sequences; however, the genomic properties of CRF22 have never been demonstrated in detail. In this study, we describe the characterization of five CRF22_01A1 strains, 02CMLT72, 01CM1867LE, 01CM001BBY, 02CM3097MN, and 02CM1917LE, identified in Cameroon without apparent epidemiological links. A typical CRF22_01A1 strain contains five fragments that can be assigned to the CRF01_AE and subsubtype A1 radiations. Forty-eight percent of the genome is classified as CRF01_AE, spanning the entire region of the gag gene, part of the pol gene, and accessory genes as well as the beginning and the end of the env gene and nef gene. Fifty-two percent of the genome is subsubtype A1 including regions mostly in the pol, vif, and env genes. The five CRF22_01A1 viruses formed a deep branch outside the groups of CRF01_AE and displayed similar mosaic structure but were moderately different from the original strain of CRF22_01A1, 01CM53122. Further analysis of the 01CM53122 genome showed that this virus represents a diverse set of mosaic genomes from CRF22_01A1, including a 446-nt segment of 01CM53122 in the env region, but unlike other CRF22 strains, clustered with CRF01_AE rather than the A1 sequence, suggesting that the 01CM53122 strain is a recombinant of CRF22_01A1 and CRF01_AE.
Asunto(s)
Variación Genética , Genoma Viral , VIH-1/genética , Recombinación Genética , Camerún/epidemiología , Genes Virales , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Infecciones por VIH/virología , Humanos , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Filogenia , ARN Viral/genética , Análisis de Secuencia de ARNAsunto(s)
Donantes de Sangre , Infecciones por VIH/virología , VIH-1/genética , Camerún , Productos del Gen gag/genética , Variación Genética , Antígenos VIH/genética , Proteína gp41 de Envoltorio del VIH/genética , Humanos , Recombinación Genética , Especificidad de la Especie , Población Urbana , Proteínas Virales/genética , Productos del Gen gag del Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia HumanaRESUMEN
Several diagnostic assays for the detection of HIV infection have been approved and licensed by the FDA for blood donor screening. However, the performance of these assays is unknown when testing genetically divergent blood specimens. To evaluate the performance of these assays with diverse HIV strains, we chose to study specimens collected from blood donors in Cameroon where genetic diversity and recombinant variants are prevalent. In this study, we tested 240 human plasma specimens collected from two blood centers in Cameroon. These samples were screened initially in Cameroon for antibody to HIV using a rapid assay. We also performed sequencing to determine subtype. Our evaluation has demonstrated that HIV infection in most HIV plasma samples could be detected by most of the US FDA licensed diagnostic assays. With the exception of a few specimens, HIV-1 p24 antigen was not detected in any of the samples. In addition, some nucleic acid tests (NAT) assays were not able to detect a few serologic reactive samples and all new variants including some CRF02_AG variants.
Asunto(s)
Donantes de Sangre , Anticuerpos Anti-VIH/sangre , Infecciones por VIH/diagnóstico , VIH-1 , Concesión de Licencias , Juego de Reactivos para Diagnóstico/normas , United States Food and Drug Administration , Camerún , Reacciones Falso Negativas , Proteína p24 del Núcleo del VIH/análisis , VIH-1/genética , VIH-1/inmunología , Humanos , ARN Viral/análisis , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
Recently T-20 or enfuvirtide, the first drug of a new class of antiretrovirals targeting the entry stage of the virus life cycle, has been clinically approved. Enfuvirtide is a peptide derived from the HR2 region of the transmembrane glycoprotein from the HXB2 HIV-1 subtype B prototype strain that binds to the HR1 region. Drug resistance seems to occur in the HR1 region between amino acids 36 and 45. We examined to what extent this region is conserved in 184 non-B strains from Cameroon: 132 (71.7%) CRF02-AG, 14 (7.6%) subtype A, 11 (5.9%) F2, 9 (4.8%) subtype D, 8 (4.3%) subtype G, 4 (2.1%) CRF01-AE, 4 (2.1%) CRF11-cpx, and 2 (1.1%) CRF06-cpx. Among the 184 strains studied, no amino acid mutation was found in the highly conserved three amino acid motif at codons 36-38 (GIV) that are important determinants of viral susceptibility to enfuvirtide. Other common substitutions like Q40H and N42T were also absent. The N42S polymorphism was present in 148 (80.4%) strains. Analysis of the HR2 domain, from which the peptide is derived, indicated a much greater genetic variability as compared to HR1.
Asunto(s)
Proteína gp41 de Envoltorio del VIH/química , Proteína gp41 de Envoltorio del VIH/metabolismo , Inhibidores de Fusión de VIH/metabolismo , VIH-1/metabolismo , Fragmentos de Péptidos/metabolismo , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Camerún , Secuencia Conservada , Enfuvirtida , Proteína gp41 de Envoltorio del VIH/genética , Proteína gp41 de Envoltorio del VIH/farmacología , Inhibidores de Fusión de VIH/farmacología , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Infecciones por VIH/virología , VIH-1/clasificación , VIH-1/efectos de los fármacos , VIH-1/genética , Humanos , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Fragmentos de Péptidos/farmacología , Recombinación Genética , Análisis de Secuencia de ADNRESUMEN
The performance of 4 rapid and simple assays: Camstix-HIV 1+2 (Camdiagnostix, Yaounde, Cameroon); Determine HIV 1+2+0 (Abbott Laboratories, Tokyo, Japan); Genie II HIV-1/HIV-2 (Bio-Rad, Marnes la Coquette, France); ImmunoComb II HIV 1 & 2 BiSpot (Orgenics, Yavne, Israel); and 2 fourth-generation ELISAs: Enzygnost HIV Integral (Dade Behring, Marburg, Germany) and Genscreen plus HIV Ag-Ab (Bio-Rad, Marnes la Coquette, France) currently used in Cameroon to detect HIV infections were evaluated on a local serum panel. A total of 503 samples were collected, using the Camstix-HIV 1+2 assay. Overall, 280 samples were confirmed HIV positive, 181 were negative, and 42 were indeterminate. All positive samples belonged to group M: CRF02_AG (73.5%), A1 (7.1%), A2 (1.2%), G (4.7%), F2 (5.1%), D (1.6%), CRF11 (1.6%), CRF06 (1.2%), and CRF01_AE (1.6%). Sensitivity, specificity, test efficiency, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated both including and excluding indeterminate samples. Except for Genie II and ImmunoComb II (98.9 and 99.3%, respectively), sensitivities were 100% for the remaining 4 tests. Specificities, efficiencies, and positive predictive values of all assays were negatively affected by the addition of HIV-indeterminate samples in the calculations. These data show the importance of prior test evaluations on local serum panels and in field conditions before a national policy for HIV screening is decided on and stress also the need to use tests and algorithms that can reduce the high number of HIV-indeterminate results in Africa.