Evaluation the Status of Confirmatory Test in Hepatitis C Antibody Screening Algorithm in Blood Donors.

BACKGROUND: Countries use national policies to screen and diagnose people infected with the hepatitis C virus to prevent transmission and eliminate the disease. In May 2016, the World Health Organization set a target of 90% diagnosis and elimination of the disease by 2030. The aim of this study was to evaluate the screening and diagnostic algorithm of hepatitis C by serological methods. METHODS: The blood samples of people referring to blood transfusion centers in Kerman province in southeastern Iran from January 2014 to January 2020 were examined with the defined algorithm for the presence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus by ELISA and confirmation test (RIBA). RESULTS: Based on the algorithm used, little/no correlations were found between the effect of age on OD in ELISA and RIBA test results, respectively (r = 0.07, p = 0.03) and (r = 0.19, p = 0.001). The correlation between the amount of OD in the ELISA test and the results of RIBA test was (r = 0.24, p = 0.01) and no significant correlation was observed between OD in ELISA and the indeterminate immunoblot test results (r = -0.04 and p = 0.2). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show, in low-risk populations, all samples that have reactive ELISA results should be confirmed without considering the amount of ELISA OD and the signal-to-cut-off (S/Co) ratios. The existing algorithm should be modified as soon as possible and newer technologies should be used to perform the test.

Evaluation of dried blood spots for hepatitis B and D serology and nucleic acid testing.

Areas with the highest burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are often low-middle-income countries with limited access to diagnosis due to isolation, affordability, and/or feasibility. Dried blood spots (DBSs) provide an alternative for remote areas where collection and transportation of serum is impractical. In this study, the application of DBS for serological and molecular detection of HBV and hepatitis D virus (HDV) was evaluated. Hepatitis B surface antigen was detected in 87 of 91 (95.6%) DBS. Seventeen of 21 (81%) had detectable HBeAg and 52 of 71 (73.2%) were anti-HBe positive. Anti-HD was detectable in 11 of 12 (91.6%) spiked control DBS after an initial failure to detect in patient DBS. HBV DNA was detected from 50 of 70 (71.4%) DBS with serum loads greater than 200 IU/mL in an in-house assay and 18 of 24 (75%) DBS with loads exceeding 389 IU/mL in a commercial assay. Using linear regression, HBV DNA loads from DBS were able to predict serum loads in 46 of 50 (92%) samples to within 1 log of actual serum load. HDV RNA was detected in 42 of 47 (89%) DBS with serum levels greater than 7200 IU/mL. DBSs are recommended for diagnosis of HBV, monitoring, and detection of high loads in pregnant women where peripheral blood testing remains unfeasible. Detection of HDV RNA from DBS may prove useful in endemic areas.

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection in captive white-collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) from Uruguay.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a major cause of acute hepatitis worldwide. Clinical presentation of hepatitis E mainly occurs as an acute and self-limited disease, though chronic cases are now being commonly reported in immunocompromised individuals. In high-income developed areas and non-endemic regions, HEV is mainly transmitted by the zoonotic route through direct contact with infected animals or by consumption of contaminated meat products. Although pigs and wild boars are the main reservoirs of the disease, HEV can also infect deer, camels, and rats and seems to have an ever-expanding host range. Peccaries (Tayassuidae family, superfamily Suoidea), the 'new world pigs', share susceptibility to several pathogens with domestic pigs and wild boars. Herein, we performed a serological and molecular survey of two captive populations of white-collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) from Uruguay, with the aim to assess the role of the species as an HEV reservoir. One-hundred and one serum samples were analysed for anti-HEV antibodies. Further evidences of active HEV infection were investigated in stool by RT-nested PCR. Animals from both wildlife reserves were exposed to HEV with an overall prevalence of 24.7%. Moreover, HEV RNA could be detected in peccaries' stool samples from one of the reserves. Phylogenetic analysis clustered the strains within HEV-3, closely related to both human and swine isolates. Our work provides the first evidences supporting the notion that white-collared peccaries are susceptible to HEV. However, these data should not be overinterpreted. Further research is needed concerning the role of peccaries in the transmission of HEV.

Role of Hepatitis E Virus Infection in North American Patients With Severe Acute Liver Injury.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine the role of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in a large cohort of prospectively enrolled patients with severe acute liver injury (ALI). METHODS: Serum samples from 594 consecutive adults enrolled between 2008 and 2018 in the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group ALI registry were tested for anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG levels. Those with detectable anti-HEV IgM underwent further testing for HEV RNA using real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 38 years; 41% were men and 72% Caucasian. Etiologies of ALI included acetaminophen hepatotoxicity (50%), autoimmune hepatitis (8.9%), hepatitis B virus (8.9%), and idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (7.9%). Overall, 62 patients (10.4%) were negative for anti-HEV IgM but positive for IgG, whereas only 3 men (0.5%) were positive for both anti-HEV IgM and IgG. These 3 cases were initially diagnosed as having indeterminate, HEV, and hepatitis B virus-related ALI. One of these patients had detectable HEV RNA genotype 3, and another anti-HEV IgM+ patient had detectable HEV antigens by immunohistochemistry on liver biopsy. On multivariate modeling, older (odds ratio: 1.99) and non-Caucasian subjects (odds ratio: 2.92) were significantly more likely to have detectable anti-HEV IgG (P < 0.0001). DISCUSSION: Acute HEV infection is an infrequent cause of ALI in hospitalized North American adults. The anti-HEV IgG+ patients were significantly older and more likely to be non-Caucasian. These data are consistent with other population-based studies that indicate exposure to HEV in the general US population is declining over time and might reflect a cohort effect.

Assessment of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the edible goat products pointed out a risk for human infection in Upper Egypt.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is endemic in developed and developing countries. Although the seroprevalence of HEV among the Egyptians is high, the sources of HEV infection in Egypt are not completely identified. Zoonotic HEV transmission among Egyptians is underestimated. Recently, we detected HEV in the milk of cows, this suggests the possibility of HEV transmission through the ingestion of contaminated milk. However, the role of small ruminants especially the goats in HEV epidemiology in Egypt remains unclear. Herein, we screened HEV markers in the edible goat products, mainly the milk and liver and we assessed the risk factor for HEV infection to the goat owners. A total of 280 goat milk samples were collected from 15 villages in the Assiut governorate. Anti-HEV IgG and HEV Ag were detected in 7.14% and 1.8% of the samples, respectively. HEV RNA was detected in 2 milk samples, cladogram analysis revealed that the isolated viruses belonged to HEV-3 subtype 3a. One viral isolate showed high homology to HEV recently isolated from the cow milk in the same geographic area. The level of anti-HEV IgG and HEV Ag were comparable in the milk and matched blood samples. While the urine and stool of HEV seropositive goats tested negative for HEV markers. HEV RNA was also detectable in the fresh goat liver samples (n = 2) derived from HEV seropositive goats. Finally, we analyzed HEV seroprevalence in households (n = 5) that owned the seropositive goats and households (n = 5) that owned the seronegative goats. Interestingly, anti-HEV IgG was recorded in 80% of households owned and frequently consumed the products of HEV seropositive goats, while HEV markers were not detectable in the owners of the seronegative goats. In conclusion: Here, we report HEV in the milk and liver of goats distributed in the villages of Assiut governorate. Higher HEV seroprevalence was recorded in the households that owned the seropositive goats. Investigation of the goat products is pivotal to assess the risk factor of HEV transmission to villagers in the Assiut governorate.

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus IgG antibodies in sera from hemodialysis patients in Tripoli, Lebanon.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important global public health concern. Several studies reported a higher HEV prevalence in patients undergoing regular hemodialysis (HD). In Lebanon, the epidemiology of HEV among HD patients has never been investigated previously. In this study, we examine the seroprevalence of HEV infection among 171 HD patients recruited from three hospital dialysis units in Tripoli, North Lebanon. Prevalence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies was evaluated in participant's sera using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The association of socio-demographic and clinical parameters with HEV infection in patients was also evaluated. Overall, 96 women and 75 men were enrolled in this study. Anti-HEV IgG antibodies were found positive in 37/171 HD patients showing a positivity rate of 21.63%. Among all examined variables, only the age of patients was significantly associated with seropositivity (P = 0.001). This first epidemiological study reveals a high seroprevalence of HEV infection among Lebanese HD patients. However, further evaluations that enroll larger samples and include control groups are required to identify exact causative factors of the important seropositivity rate in this population.

[Detection of markers of hepatitis B and D virus infection in biological media and dried blood spots.]

The aim of this study was to assess the rates of detection of the major markers of infection with hepatitis B and Delta (D) viruses in serum, saliva and dry blood dots (DBS) as a possible option for serological studies among the population of the endemic region in conditions of limited laboratory resources. For this purpose, paired samples of blood serum and DBS, blood serum and saliva from patients with chronic hepatitis B with Delta agent living in the Republic of Tyva, which is endemic for this disease. HBsAg was detected in 289 (100%) serum samples, in 88/92 (95.7%) saliva samples, in 60/80 (75%) DBS samples, stored three years at room temperature, and in 111/117 (94.9%) DBS stored one year at the same conditions. Anti-HBcore was detected in 209 (100%) serum samples, while in saliva and DBS samples this marker was detected in only 13.04% (12/92) and 19.7% (23/117), respectively. Anti-HDV antibodies in serum were detected in 209 (100%) samples collected from patients in 2017-2018. In saliva and DBS anti-HDV were not detected in any sample. This difference in the detection rates of anti-HBcore and anti-HDV might be accounted for the fact that the HBV core protein is a very strong immunogen, indusing the production of anti-HBcore in high concentrations. Probably, the concentration of anti-HDV is much lower, which explains its absence in saliva and DBS in patients with hepatitis B+D. Samples of biological media (saliva), as well as DBS can serve as an alternative material for the detection of HBsAg in screening and research prevalence studies. Meanwhile, the definition of anti-HDV in such media is not possible due to the false negative results. Due to the high probability of superinfection with HDV in patients with HBV in endemic areas, the detection of HBsAg in alternative media (saliva or DBS) should be followed by testing for anti-HDV in serum samples.

Evaluation of a new point-of-care oral anti-HCV test for screening of hepatitis C virus infection.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a public health issue for which an effective universal screening method is urgently needed. An oral anti-HCV test could provide a noninvasive and rapid screening strategy for HCV infection. This study evaluated the performance of a new point-of-care oral assay developed by Well for the detection of HCV antibody. METHODS: Individuals from three centers with and without HCV infection were enrolled. All participants were tested for oral HCV antibody using the Well assay and for serum HCV antibody using established tests (ARCHITECT i2000 anti-HCV assay and InTec serum anti-HCV assay). For participants who obtained positive results, HCV RNA was tested for verification. Some patients underwent the OraQuick HCV test at the same time, and some self-tested with the Well assay during the same period. RESULTS: A total of 1179 participants, including 486 patients with chronic HCV infection, 108 patients with other liver diseases, and 585 individuals who underwent physical examination, were enrolled. The Well anti-HCV test had a sensitivity of 91.88% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 88.97-94.09%) and a specificity of 98.00% (96.58-98.86%) for oral HCV antibody detection. The consistency between the Well and InTec assays was 97.02% (1138/1179). The consistency between the Well and OraQuick assays was 98.50% (197/200). Furthermore, the results of self-testing were highly consistent with those of researcher-administered tests (Kappa = 0.979). In addition, the HCV RNA results also showed that HCV RNA could only be detected on 1 of the 39 false-negative samples, and for 172 positive HCV RNA results, 171 could be detected by the Well oral anti-HCV assay. CONCLUSIONS: The Well oral anti-HCV test offers high sensitivity and specificity and performed comparably to both the OraQuick assay and InTec assay for HCV diagnosis. Thus, the Well test represents a new tool for universal HCV screening to identify infected patients, particularly in regions with limited medical resources.

Emerging risk factors associated with prevalence of hepatitis c virus infection among Nigerians: Findings from blood donors in an academic hospital, Enugu South-Eastern Nigeria.

AIM: In Nigeria, reports on the prevalence of Hepatitis C risk factors have not been clearly elucidated, we investigate the risk factors that influence the prevalence and how the difference in awareness level of risk factors screening across age groups contributes to the disease. METHODS: A total of 8790 aged 18-55 years old, who attended the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion Services, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu were screened. Among them, 135 were diagnosed with hepatitis C infection from 1 January 2017 to 1 January 2019. Participants completed a questionnaire related to demographics, risk factors, history of previous medical screening. Age groups, income and education were indicators. Multivariate analyses were used to identify correlates. RESULTS: A total of 135 blood donors (95 males and 40 females) with a mean age of 35.9 ± 10.5 and 36.4 ± 10.7 years respectively were positive for hepatitis C infection, giving overall prevalence (1.5%), injecting drug use (39%), unprotected multiple sex (22.2%), sacrification (14.8%), blood transfusion (11.1%). Multivariate analysis revealed that injecting drug use (P < .0001), unprotected multiple sex (P = .004), sacrification (P = .036) were independent risk factors that influence the prevalence among younger age groups. Blood transfusion was not significant (P = .053) but the mostly accessed. Low income and educational background were significantly more prevalent among the studied group. CONCLUSION: Injecting drug use, multiple sex and sacrification are independent predictors of prevalence of Hepatitis C infection. The early onset of the risk factors among the younger adult clearly underlines the need for early screening and interventions.

Hepatitis C virus prevalence and incidence estimates among Chinese blood donors.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important transfusion-transmitted virus with global significance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the HCV prevalence and incidence among Chinese blood donors from 2013 to 2016. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Whole blood and apheresis platelet donations collected from five Chinese blood centers from June 1, 2013, to December 31, 2016, were screened in parallel by two different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for anti-HIV 1/2, hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-HCV, and syphilis. Screening-reactive samples were further confirmed by western blot. Confirmatory positive rates among first-time and repeat donors were used to estimate the prevalence and incidence rates. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine factors associated with HCV infection. RESULTS: A total of 1,276,544 donations were collected from five Chinese blood centers, of which an estimated 1203 were confirmed HCV positive. The overall HCV prevalence among first-time donors was 166.56 per 100,000 donors (95% confidence interval, 156.04-177.08). The HCV incidence rate was estimated to be 15.21 (95% confidence interval, 11.83-19.56) per 100,000 person-years among repeat donors. Multivariable logistic regression results showed that increased age, lower educational levels, ethnicity, and occupation were all important factors associated with HCV confirmatory status among first-time donors (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: HCV infection is still an important concern for transfusion safety in China. Our findings indicate that continued strong efforts are needed to monitor and control the risk of transfusion-transmitted HCV infection in China. Moreover, to reduce unnecessary donor loss, HCV donor screening procedures should be improved by incorporating confirmatory testing into routine blood center operations.

Previous hepatitis E virus infection, cirrhosis and insulin resistance in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in patients with pre-existing liver disease has shown high morbidity and lethality. The consequences of HEV superinfection in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the presence of anti-HEV antibodies, liver cirrhosis, and insulin resistance. METHODS: A total of 618 patients chronically infected with HCV were included from three reference centers for viral hepatitis in São Paulo, Brazil. Presence of anti-HEV IgG was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (WANTAI HEV-IgG ELISA). RESULTS: The seroprevalence of anti-HEV in patients with cirrhosis was significantly higher than in patients without cirrhosis (13.2% vs 8%, OR=1.74, p=0.04). Seropositivity for anti-HEV, adjusted for sex, age, and HCV genotype showed an association trend with hepatic cirrhosis (aOR=1.75, p=0.059). Presence of HEV antibodies, adjusted for age, body mass index and cirrhosis, was shown to be independently associated with insulin resistance (aOR: 4.39; p=0.045). CONCLUSION: Patients with chronic hepatitis C are under risk of hepatitis E virus superinfection in Brazil. The trend toward association between cirrhosis and previous HEV infection suggests that it may accelerate liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C. In addition, previous infection by HEV is independently associated with insulin resistance in the studied population, which may be an extra-hepatic manifestation of hepatitis E that persists after resolution of the active infection, and may contribute to fibrosis progression.

Previous hepatitis E virus infection, cirrhosis and insulin resistance in patients with chronic hepatitis C

ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in patients with pre-existing liver disease has shown high morbidity and lethality. The consequences of HEV superinfection in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the presence of anti-HEV antibodies, liver cirrhosis, and insulin resistance. Methods: A total of 618 patients chronically infected with HCV were included from three reference centers for viral hepatitis in São Paulo, Brazil. Presence of anti-HEV IgG was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (WANTAI HEV-IgG ELISA). Results: The seroprevalence of anti-HEV in patients with cirrhosis was significantly higher than in patients without cirrhosis (13.2% vs 8%, OR = 1.74, p = 0.04). Seropositivity for anti-HEV, adjusted for sex, age, and HCV genotype showed an association trend with hepatic cirrhosis (aOR = 1.75, p = 0.059). Presence of HEV antibodies, adjusted for age, body mass index and cirrhosis, was shown to be independently associated with insulin resistance (aOR: 4.39; p = 0.045). Conclusion: Patients with chronic hepatitis C are under risk of hepatitis E virus superinfection in Brazil. The trend toward association between cirrhosis and previous HEV infection suggests that it may accelerate liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C. In addition, previous infection by HEV is independently associated with insulin resistance in the studied population, which may be an extra-hepatic manifestation of hepatitis E that persists after resolution of the active infection, and may contribute to fibrosis progression.

Acute liver failure caused by hepatitis E virus genotype 3 and 4: A systematic review and pooled analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Acute liver failure caused by hepatitis E virus genotype 3 and 4 has been rarely described. Because of the presence of a short golden therapeutic window in patients with viral acute liver failure from other causes, it is possible that early recognition and treatment might reduce the morbidity and mortality. We performed a systematic review and pooled analysis of acute liver failure caused by hepatitis E virus genotype 3 and 4. METHODS: Two reviewers appraised studies after searching multiple databases on June 12th, 2017. Appropriate tests were used to compare hepatitis E virus genotype 3 vs 4, suspected vs confirmed genotypes, hepatitis E virus-RNA positive vs negative, and to discern important mortality risk factors. RESULTS: We identified 65 patients, with median age 58 years (range: 3-79), and a male to female ratio of 1.2:1. The median bilirubin, ALT, AST and alkaline phosphatase (expressed by multiplication of the upper limit of normal) levels were 14.8, 45.3, 34.8 and 1.63 respectively. Antihepatitis E virus IgG, antihepatitis E virus IgM and hepatitis E virus-RNA were positive in 84%, 91% and 86% of patients respectively. The median interval from symptoms onset to acute liver failure was 23 days, and 16 patients underwent liver transplantation. Final outcome was reported in 58 patients and mortality was 46%. Age was a predictor of poor prognosis in multivariate analysis. No important differences were found between patients infected with genotype 3 vs 4, patients with confirmed vs suspected genotypes, or patients with positive vs negative RNA. CONCLUSION: Acute liver failure caused by hepatitis E virus genotype 3 and 4 is rare, similar between genotypes, occurs commonly in middle-aged/elderly patients and has a very high mortality. Age is predictive of poor prognosis in multivariate analysis.

Investigation of suspected viral hepatitis outbreaks in North West India.

Hepatitis E (HEV) infection is diagnosed on the basis of serum anti-HEV IgM detection. In outbreaks, early diagnostic method is important for prompt control measures. This study compared 3 diagnostic methods in 60 serum samples collected in suspected HEV outbreaks. The suitability of saliva samples for antibody detection was also evaluated in 21 paired serum saliva samples. The anti-HEV IgM, HEV-Ag, and HEV-RNA were detected in serum samples of 52 (86.66%), 16 (26.66%), and 18 (30%) patients, respectively. The concordance between serum and saliva IgM was found to be 76.91%. The positivity of PCR and HEV-Ag detection was 100% within 1 week of illness which declined to 5-10% thereafter. The outbreak was attributed to HEV genotype 1, subtype 1a, and the clinical and environmental strains clustered together. HEV-antigen and RNA were an early diagnostic marker with 96.66% concordance. Saliva samples can be used as an alternative in outbreak setting.

Mucoadhesive glycol chitosan nanoparticles for intranasal delivery of hepatitis B vaccine: enhancement of mucosal and systemic immune response.

In this study, for the first time, glycol chitosan (GC) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared and evaluated to obtain systemic and mucosal immune responses against nasally administered hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Size, zeta potential and morphology of the NPs were investigated as a function of preparation method. NPs with high loading efficacy ( > 95%) and positively charged surface were obtained with an average particle size of approximately 200 nm. The structural integrity of HBsAg in NPs was evaluated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis and further confirmed by measuring the in vitro antigenicity using an enzyme immunoassay. During in vivo studies, GC NPs showed the lowest nasal clearance rate and better mucosal uptake when compared with chitosan (CS) NPs. The immunogenicity of NPs-based delivery system(s) was assessed by measuring anti-HBsAg antibody titer in mice serum and secretions after intranasal administration. The alum-based HBsAg vaccine injected subcutaneously was used as positive control. Results indicated that alum-based HBsAg induced strong humoral but negligible mucosal immunity. However, GC NPs induced stronger immune response at both of the fronts as compared to generated by CS NPs. This study demonstrates that this newly developed system has potential for mucosal administration of vaccines.

Hepatitis B virus sero-profiles and genotypes in HIV-1 infected and uninfected injection and Non-injection drug users from coastal Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Information about HBV sero-markers, infection stages and genotypes in HIV-1 infected and uninfected injection and non-injection drug users (IDUs) in Kenya remains elusive. METHODS: A cross-sectional study examining HBV sero-marker, infection stages and genotypes was conducted among HIV-1 infected and uninfected, respectively, IDUs (n = 157 and n = 214) and non-IDUs (n = 139 and n = 48), and HIV-1 uninfected non-drug using controls (n = 194) from coastal, Kenya. HBV sero-marker and infection stages were based on HBV 5-panel rapid test plasma sero-reactivity. DNA was extracted from acute and chronic plasma samples and genotypes established by nested-PCR and direct sequencing. RESULTS: HBsAg positivity was higher in HIV-1 infected IDUs (9.6%) relative to HIV-1 uninfected IDUs (2.3%), HIV-1 infected non-IDUs (3.6%), HIV-1 uninfected non-IDUs (0.0%) and non-drug users (2.6%; P = 0.002). Contrastingly, HBsAb positivity was higher in HIV-1 uninfected IDUs (14.6%) and non-IDUs (16.8) in comparison to HIV-1 infected IDUs (8.3%), and non-IDUs (8.6%), and non-drug users (8.2%; P = 0.023). HBcAb positivity was higher in HIV-1 infected IDUs (10.2%) compared to HIV-1 uninfected IDUs (3.3%), HIV-1 infected non-IDUs (6.5%), HIV-1 uninfected non-IDUs (2.1%) and non-drug users (4.6%; P = 0.038). Acute (5.7%, 1.4%, 0.0%, 0.0% and 1.5%) and chronic (5.1%, 0.9%, 3.6%, 0.0% and 1.5%) stages were higher in HIV-1 infected IDUs, compared to HIV-1 uninfected IDUs, HIV-1 infected and uninfected non-IDUs and non-drug users, respectively. However, vaccine type response stage was higher in HIV-1 uninfected IDUs (15.4%) relative to HIV-1 infected IDUs (6.4%), and HIV-1 infected (6.5%), and uninfected (10.4%) non-IDUs, and non-drug users (5.7%; P = 0.003). Higher resolved infection rates were also recorded in HIV-1 uninfected IDUs (11.2%) compared to HIV-1 infected IDUs (8.3%), and HIV-1 infected (7.2%), uninfected (6.3%) non-IDUs, and non-drug users (6.7%; P = 0.479), respectively. Only A1 genotype showing minimal diversity was detected among the study participants. CONCLUSION: HBV sero-markers and infection staging are valuable in diagnosis and genotyping of HBV infections. Among IDUs, higher HBsAg and HBcAb positivity in HIV-1 infected and higher HBsAb positivity in HIV-1 negative IDUs suggests frequent exposure. Additionally, HBV genotype A is the dominant circulating genotype in both high and low risk populations of Kenya.

MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ASSESSMENT IN ACUTE HEPATITIS-E.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis-E is an enterically transmitted virus causing acute hepatitis. Mostly it is a self-limiting clinical course, but can be life threatening in certain high risk groups. Pakistan is endemic for Hepatitis-E with limited published literature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the predictors of mortality in patients with acute Hepatitis-E. METHODS: We analyzed the medical records of 369 adult patients with Hepatitis-E infection admitted at Aga khan University Hospital, from January 1996 to December 2010. Details of their laboratory investigations, clinical course and complications such as FHF and mortality were noted. The outcome was compared, and determinants of mortality were evaluated in important patient subgroups. RESULTS: Out of 369 patients with Hepatitis-E, 326 (88.3%) were discharged after full recovery. Out of these 22 (6%) patients had chronic liver disease CLD in this study, of whom 10 (2.7%) expired (p-value <0.001). There were about 67 (18%) pregnant patients, with a mean gestational age of 29.19 +/- 7.68 weeks and 5 (1.4%) pregnant patients died (p-value=0.23). A total of 58 (15.7%) patients were coinfected with other hepatotropic virus, and a comparison did not find an increased risk of mortality in this group. CONCLUSION: This study showed that Hepatitis-E is significantly associated with mortality in patients suffering from pre-existing chronic liver disease. Pregnancy was not a determinant of mortality in Hepatitis-E patients in this study, and neither was coinfection with other Hepatotropic viruses.

Inadequate activation of the HBsAg-specific Th cells by APCs leads to hyporesponsiveness to HBsAg vaccine in B10.S mice.

Hepatitis B can be effectively prevented by hepatitis B vaccination. However, hyporesponse to the hepatitis B vaccine has been found in both human and inbred mice with particular MHC alleles or haplotypes, but the mechanisms underlying this poor response remains elusive. In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the hyporesponse to hepatitis B vaccination using B10.S-H2s/SgMcdJ (B10.S, H-2(s), poor responder) and C57BL/10J (B10, H-2(b), good responder) mice. We observed that the B10.S mice displayed a hyporesponse to HBsAg vaccine but a normal response to 3 other foreign antigens (influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine, tetanus toxoid and ovalbumin). In B10.S mice immunized with HBsAg, the levels of serum anti-HBs IgG, the number of HBsAg-specific IgG-secreting plasma cells and HBsAg-specific Th cells were considerably lower than that in B10 mice. Further, the findings of the insufficient maturation (CD86), co-stimulation (CD40) and migration (CCR7) activities of DCs together with the inadequate activation of the HBsAg-specific Th cells by APCs were identified as part of the reason for the HBsAg hyporesponse in B10.S mice, which supports the hypothesis that measures aimed at promoting the maturation, co-stimulation or migration of APCs to enhance Th cell activation may be a useful strategy for the development of new hepatitis B vaccines.

[The establishment of high-throughput neutralization titer evaluation model for hepatitis E virus (HEV)].

The lack of effective in vitro infection model for hepatitis E virus (HEV) has greatly hindered the quantitative analysis of neutralizing titers of anti-HEV antibodies and human sera, thus impeding further studies of HEV-stimulated antibody responses and the immunological mechanisms. In order to improve this situation, the infection of HepG2 cells that are inefficient for HEV replication was continuously monitored until the viral load reached the limit of detection on day 13, the results of which confirmed the feasibility of using this cell line to establish the infection model. Then, neutralization assays of five anti-HEV murine monoclonal antibodies and serum samples collected from four HEV vaccine recipients (collected before and after vaccination) were performed by 96 multi-channel parallel infections, nucleic acid extraction, and qPCR. The results showed that the cell model can be applied for quantitative evaluation of the neutralizing capacity of different antibodies and antiserum samples from HEV vaccine recipients. In this study, we have successfully established a high-throughput in vitro HEV replication model, which will prove to be useful for the evaluation of HEV vaccines and studies of HEV epitopes.

No transmission of hepatitis E virus in pigs fed diets containing commercial spray-dried porcine plasma: a retrospective study of samples from several swine trials.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has been reported in the human population and pigs are a recognized reservoir for HEV and a possible source of HEV transmission to humans. Spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP) is an ingredient commonly used in feed for pigs around the world. Even though processing conditions used to produce SDPP should be adequate to inactivate HEV, it was of interest to analyze commercial SDPP samples for presence of genome and antibodies (AB) against HEV and to retrospectively analyze serum samples collected from pigs used in past experiments that had been fed diets containing either 0% or 8% SDPP to detect potential transmission of HEV as determined by seroconversion. RESULTS: Eighty-five commercial SDPP samples were analyzed by ELISA and 100% of them contained AB against HEV, while 22.4% (11 of 49 samples analyzed) were positive for HEV RNA. Frozen sera samples (n = 140) collected from 70 pigs used in past experiments that had been fed diets containing either 0% or 8% commercial SDPP was analyzed by ELISA for AB against HEV. Age of pigs at sera sampling ranged from 3 to 15 weeks and feeding duration of diets ranged from approximately 4 to 9 weeks. One lot of SDPP used in one experiment was analyzed and confirmed to contain HEV RNA. Regardless of the diet fed, some sera samples collected at the beginning of an experiment contained AB titer against HEV. These sera samples were collected from weaned pigs prior to feeding of the experimental diets and the HEV titer was probably from maternal origin. However, by the end of the experiments, HEV titer was not detected or had declined by more than 50% of the initial titer concentration. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting presence of HEV AB titer and RNA in SDPP. Retrospective analysis of serum collected from pigs fed diets with SDPP revealed no indication of seroconversion to HEV. The results indicate that feeding SDPP in diets for pigs does not represent a risk of transmitting HEV, even though HEV genome may be detected in SDPP.