Global elimination of HBV: Is it really achievable?

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of premature death worldwide. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for HBV elimination and set up very ambitious elimination targets. The development of effective vaccines, accurate diagnostic tools and safe antiviral drugs make HBV elimination a realistic goal. However, the most constrained-resource regions, which bear the highest burden of HBV, are facing major challenges in implementing strategies to reduce HBV incidence and mortality. Developing simplified approaches adapted to resource-limited settings and scaling up interventions for the prevention and control of HBV globally are urgently needed. Whether HBV elimination will be achieved in an equitable manner and in a reasonable timeframe remains highly uncertain.

Screening HIV Patients at Risk for NAFLD Using MRI-PDFF and Transient Elastography: A European Multicenter Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing concern in the aging population with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Screening for NAFLD is recommended in patients with metabolic risk factors or unexplained transaminitis. This study aimed to prospectively assess the prevalence and associated factors of liver steatosis and advanced fibrosis (AF) in HIV-monoinfected patients at risk of NAFLD. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter study in HIV-monoinfected patients, nonexcessive drinkers with metabolic syndrome, and/or persistently elevated liver enzymes, and/or clinical lipodystrophy. All participants had magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), Fibroscan/controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), and cytokine and genetic analysis. RESULTS: From March 2014 to November 2015, we enrolled 442 participants and analyzed 402: male (85%); median age, 55 years (interquartile range [IQR], 50-61 years); body mass index, 27.0 kg/m2 (IQR, 23.6-28.7 kg/m2); metabolic syndrome (67%); and CD4 cell count, 630/mm3 (IQR, 510-832/mm3). Overall 257 of 402 (64%) had NAFLD (MRI-PDFF ≥5%). Among them, 11.3% had a liver stiffness ≥9.6 kPa, suggestive of AF. Multivariable analysis identified 7 factors of steatosis: high CD4-cell count (odds ratio [OR], 4.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.92-8.51), high leptin level (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.14-3.93), non-CC PNPLA3s738409 genetic polymorphism (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.11-3.33), low high-density lipoprotein (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.03-3.27), high triglycerides (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.18-1.84), elevated alanine transaminase (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.16-1.31), and hyper ferritinemia (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.03-1.07). Two factors were associated with AF: high body mass index (OR, 1.23 ; 95% CI, 1.07-1.42 ; P = .005, and elevated aspartate aminotransferase (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05; P = .001). Using MRI-PDFF as a reference, CAP (best cutoff, 280 dB/m) had good accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.82-0.90) for the diagnosis of moderate to severe steatosis. CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of HIV-moninfected patients at risk of NAFLD, steatosis is present in two-thirds of cases, and around 10% have AF. The CAP technique is accurate for screening steatosis in this population.

Informing a target product profile for rapid tests to identify HBV-infected pregnant women with high viral loads: a discrete choice experiment with African healthcare workers.

BACKGROUND: Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) requires infant immunoprophylaxis and antiviral prophylaxis for pregnant women with high viral loads. Since real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a gold standard for assessing antiviral eligibility, is neither accessible nor affordable for women living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) detecting alternative HBV markers may be needed. To inform future development of the target product profile (TPP) for RDTs to identify highly viremic women, we used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and elicited preference and trade-off of healthcare workers (HCW) in Africa between the following four attributes of fictional RDTs: price, time-to-result, diagnostic sensitivity, and specificity. METHODS: Through an online questionnaire survey, we asked participants to indicate their preferred test from a set of two RDTs in seven choice tasks with varying levels of the four attributes. We used mixed multinomial logit models to quantify the utility gain or loss generated by each attribute. We attempted to define minimal and optimal criteria for test attributes that can satisfy ≥ 70% and ≥ 90% of HCWs, respectively, as an alternative to RT-PCR. RESULTS: A total of 555 HCWs from 41 African countries participated. Increases in sensitivity and specificity generated significant utility and increases in cost and time-to-result generated significant disutility. The size of the coefficients for the highest attribute levels relative to the reference levels were in the following order: sensitivity (ß = 3.749), cost (ß = -2.550), specificity (ß = 1.134), and time-to-result (ß = -0.284). Doctors cared most about test sensitivity, while public health practitioners cared about cost and midwives about time-to-result. For an RDT with 95% specificity, costing 1 US$, and yielding results in 20 min, the minimally acceptable test sensitivity would be 82.5% and the optimally acceptable sensitivity would be 87.5%. CONCLUSIONS: African HCWs would prefer an RDT with the following order of priority: higher sensitivity, lower cost, higher specificity, and shorter time-to-result. The development and optimization of RDTs that can meet the criteria are urgently needed to scale up the prevention of HBV mother-to-child transmission in LMICs.

Prognostic value of non-invasive scores based on liver stiffness measurement, spleen diameter and platelets in HIV-infected patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: People living with HIV (PLWH) are at high risk for advanced chronic liver disease and related adverse outcomes. We aimed to validate the prognostic value of non-invasive scores based on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and on markers of portal hypertension (PH), namely platelets and spleen diameter, in PLWH. METHODS: We combined data from eight international cohorts of PLWH with available non-invasive scores, including LSM and the composite biomarkers liver stiffness-spleen size-to-platelet ratio score (LSPS), LSM-to-Platelet ratio (LPR) and PH risk score. Incidence and predictors of all-cause mortality, any liver-related event and classical hepatic decompensation were determined by survival analysis, controlling for competing risks for the latter two. Non-invasive scores were assessed and compared using area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). RESULTS: We included 1695 PLWH (66.8% coinfected with hepatitis C virus). During a median follow-up of 4.7 (interquartile range 2.8-7.7) years, the incidence rates of any liver-related event, all-cause mortality and hepatic decompensation were 13.7 per 1000 persons-year (PY) (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.4-16.3), 13.8 per 1000 PY (95% CI, 11.6-16.4) and 9.9 per 1000 PY (95% CI, 8.1-12.2), respectively. The AUROC of LSM was similar to that of the composite biomarkers, ranging between 0.83 and 0.86 for any liver-related event, 0.79-0.85 for all-cause mortality and 0.87-0.88 for classical hepatic decompensation. All individual non-invasive scores remained independent predictors of clinical outcomes in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Non-invasive scores based on LSM, spleen diameter and platelets predict clinical outcomes in PLWH. Composite biomarkers do not achieve higher prognostic performance compared to LSM alone.

Hepatitis B in Africa Collaborative Network: cohort profile and analysis of baseline data.

Approximately 80 million people live with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the WHO Africa Region. The natural history of HBV infection in this population is poorly characterised, and may differ from patterns observed elsewhere due to differences in prevailing genotypes, environmental exposures, co-infections, and host genetics. Existing research is largely drawn from small, single-centre cohorts, with limited follow-up time. The Hepatitis B in Africa Collaborative Network (HEPSANET) was established in 2022 to harmonise the process of ongoing data collection, analysis, and dissemination from 13 collaborating HBV cohorts in eight African countries. Research priorities for the next 5 years were agreed upon through a modified Delphi survey prior to baseline data analysis being conducted. Baseline data on 4,173 participants with chronic HBV mono-infection were collected, of whom 38.3% were women and the median age was 34 years (interquartile range 28-42). In total, 81.3% of cases were identified through testing of asymptomatic individuals. HBeAg-positivity was seen in 9.6% of participants. Follow-up of HEPSANET participants will generate evidence to improve the diagnosis and management of HBV in this region.

Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Occult Hepatitis B Infection in The Gambia, West Africa.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence and clinical outcomes of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) have been poorly studied in Africa. METHODS: Using the PROLIFICA cohort, we compared the prevalence of OBI between hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative healthy adults screened from the general population (controls) and HBsAg-negative patients with advanced liver disease (cases), and estimated the population attributable fraction for the effect of OBI on advanced liver disease. RESULTS: OBI prevalence was significantly higher among cases (15/82, 18.3%) than controls (31/330, 9.4%, P = .03). After adjusting for age, sex, and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) serology, OBI was significantly associated with advanced liver disease (odds ratio, 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-6.0; P = .006). In HBsAg-negative people, the proportions of advanced liver disease cases attributable to OBI and HCV were estimated at 12.9% (95% CI, 7.5%-18.1%) and 16.9% (95% CI, 15.2%-18.6%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: OBI is endemic and an independent risk factor for advanced liver disease in The Gambia, West Africa. This implies that HBsAg-negative people with liver disease should be systematically screened for OBI. Moreover, the impact of infant hepatitis B immunization to prevent end-stage liver disease might be higher than previous estimates based solely on HBsAg positivity.

Cost-utility analysis of four WHO-recommended sofosbuvir-based regimens for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Although direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have become standard care for patients with chronic hepatitis C worldwide, there is no evidence for their value for money in sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of four sofosbuvir-based regimens recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. METHODS: Using modelling, we simulated chronic hepatitis C progression with and without treatment in hypothetical cohorts of patients infected with the country's predominant genotypes (1, 2 and 4) and without other viral coinfections, history of liver complication or hepatocellular carcinoma. Using the status-quo 'no DAA treatment' as a comparator, we assessed four regimens: sofosbuvir-ribavirin, sofosbuvir-ledipasvir (both recommended in WHO 2016 guidelines and assessed in the TAC pilot trial conducted in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal), sofosbuvir-daclatasvir and sofosbuvir-ledipasvir (two pangenotypic regimens recommended in WHO 2018 guidelines). DAA effectiveness, costs and utilities were mainly estimated using data from the TAC pilot trial. Secondary data from the literature was used to estimate disease progression probabilities with and without treatment. We considered two DAA pricing scenarios: S1) originator prices; S2) generic prices. Uncertainty was addressed using probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. RESULTS: With slightly higher effectiveness and significantly lower costs, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir was the preferred DAA regimen in S1 with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) ranging from US$526 to US$632/QALY. At the cost-effectiveness threshold (CET) of 0.5 times the 2017 country's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir was only cost-effective in Senegal (probability > 95%). In S2 at generic prices, sofosbuvir/daclatasvir was the preferred regimen due to significantly lower costs. ICERs ranged from US$139 to US$216/QALY according to country i.e. a 95% probability of being cost-effective. Furthermore, this regimen was cost-effective (probability> 95%) for all CET higher than US$281/QALY, US$223/QALY and US$195/QALY in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, respectively, corresponding to 0.14 (Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal) and 0.2 (Cameroon) times the country's per-capita GDP. CONCLUSIONS: Generic sofosbuvir/daclatasvir is very cost-effective for treating chronic hepatitis C in sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale use of generics and an increase in national and international funding for hepatitis C treatment must be priorities for the HCV elimination agenda.

Assessment and Simplification of Treatment Eligibility Among Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Infection in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Treatment eligibility and the accuracy of its simplified criteria have been poorly documented in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: From a cohort of HBV-infected patients in Vietnam, we assessed the proportion of patients eligible for treatment using the national guidelines based on reference tests (HBV DNA quantification and FibroScan); and the accuracy of simplified treatment criteria free from HBV DNA and FibroScan (Treatment Eligibility in Africa for the Hepatitis B Virus [TREAT-B] score and simplified World Health Organization [WHO] criteria) to select patients for antiviral therapy using the national guidelines as a reference. RESULTS: We analyzed 400 consecutive treatment-naïve HBV-monoinfected patients: 49% males, median age 38 years (range, 18-86), 32% hepatitis B e antigen-positive, median HBV DNA 4.8 log10 IU/mL (undetectable -8.4), median FibroScan 5.3 kPa (3.0-67.8), and 25% having significant liver fibrosis including 12% with cirrhosis. Of these, 167 (42%) fulfilled treatment criteria according to national guidelines. Using the national criteria as a reference, the performance of TREAT-B to select patients for treatment was high (area under the receiver operating characteristic [AUROC], 0.89 [95% confidence interval 0.87-0.92]) with a sensitivity of 74.3% and a specificity of 88.4%. In a subset of patients with 2 alanine aminotransferase measurements over a 6-month period (n = 89), the AUROC of TREAT-B was significantly higher than that of the simplified WHO criteria (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that a large proportion of patients with chronic HBV infection require antiviral therapy in Vietnam. Compared with the simplified WHO criteria free from HBV DNA quantification, TREAT-B is a better alternative to easily indicate treatment eligibility and might help scale up treatment intervention in Vietnam.

Increased Body Mass Index and Type 2 Diabetes Are the Main Predictors of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Advanced Fibrosis in Liver Biopsies of Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Monoinfection.

BACKGROUND: Liver disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), of which nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly recognized cause. There are limited data investigating NAFLD in HIV monoinfection and histologically defined disease. We aimed to identify who is at risk of fibrosis, NAFLD, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) among PLWH and explore the diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive markers of fibrosis. METHODS: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, international, multicenter study including patients with HIV monoinfection, without chronic viral hepatitis or other known causes of chronic liver disease, who underwent liver biopsy for abnormal liver biochemistry and/or clinical suspicion of liver fibrosis. RESULTS: A total of 116 patients from 5 centers were included. Sixty-three (54%) had NAFLD, of whom 57 (92%) had NASH. Overall, 36 (31%) had advanced fibrosis (≥F3) and 3 (3%) had cirrhosis. Of the 53 cases without NAFLD, 15 (28%) had advanced fibrosis. Collagen proportionate area was similar between cases with and without NAFLD (3% vs 2%). Body mass index was independently associated with NAFLD (aOR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.08-1.34), and type 2 diabetes was independently associated with advanced fibrosis (aOR, 3.42; 95% CI, 1.00-11.71). The area under the curve for advanced fibrosis was 0.65 and 0.66 for both NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS) and FIB-4. Cutoff values of -1.455 (NFS) and 1.3 (FIB-4) have negative-predictive values of 0.80 and 0.82, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced fibrosis is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes in PLWH. Serological markers require further optimization.

Hepatitis B Core-Related Antigen to Indicate High Viral Load: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 10,397 Individual Participants.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To eliminate hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, scale-up of testing and treatment in resource-limited countries is crucial. However, access to nucleic acid testing to quantify HBV DNA, an essential test to examine treatment eligibility, remains severely limited. We assessed the performance of a novel immunoassay, HBV core-related antigen (HBcrAg), as a low-cost (less than US $15/assay) alternative to nucleic acid testing to indicate clinically important high viremia in chronic HBV patients infected with different genotypes. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases through June 27, 2018. Three reviewers independently selected studies measuring HBV DNA and HBcrAg in the same blood samples. We contacted authors to provide individual participant data (IPD). We randomly allocated each IPD to a derivation or validation cohort. We applied optimal HBcrAg cut-off values derived from the derivation set to the validation set to estimate sensitivity/specificity. RESULTS: Of 74 eligible studies, IPD were obtained successfully for 60 studies (81%). Meta-analysis included 5591 IPD without antiviral therapy and 4806 treated with antivirals. In untreated patients, the pooled area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and optimal cut-off values were as follows: 0.88 (95% CI, 0.83-0.94) and 3.6 log U/mL to diagnose HBV DNA level of 2000 IU/mL or greater; and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.94-0.98) and 5.3 log U/mL for 200,000 IU/mL or greater, respectively. In the validation set, the sensitivity and specificity were 85.2% and 84.7% to diagnose HBV DNA level of 2000 IU/mL or greater, and 91.8% and 90.5% for 200,000 IU/mL or greater, respectively. The performance did not vary by HBV genotypes. In patients treated with anti-HBV therapy the correlation between HBcrAg and HBV DNA was poor. CONCLUSIONS: HBcrAg might be a useful serologic marker to indicate clinically important high viremia in treatment-naïve, HBV-infected patients.

Clinical utility of quantifying hepatitis B surface antigen in African patients with chronic hepatitis B.

The clinical utility of quantifying hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) levels in African subjects with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been poorly documented. From a multicentre cohort of 944 HBV-infected African patients, we aimed to assess whether qHBsAg alone can accurately identify i) those in a HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection phase at low risk of liver disease progression and ii) those in need of antiviral therapy according to the 2017 EASL guidelines. We analysed 770 HBV mono-infected treatment-naïve patients, mainly males (61%) from West Africa (92%), median age 35 years (IQR: 30-44), median HBV DNA: 95.6 IU/ml (10.0-1,300.0), median qHBsAg 5,498 IU/ml (1,171-13,000) and HBeAg-pos 38 (5%). A total of 464/770 (60.2%) patients were classified as HBeAg-negative chronic infection (median age 36 years (31-46), median ALT 23 IU/l (18-28), median HBV-DNA 33.5 IU/ml (3.8-154.1), median LSM 4.8 kPa (4.1-5.8)) and qHBsAg levels had poor accuracy to identify these subjects with an AUROC at 0.58 (95%CI: 0.54-0.62), sensitivity 55.0% and specificity 55.6%; 118/770 (15.3%) patients were eligible for treatment according to the 2017 EASL criteria. qHBsAg correlated poorly with HBV DNA and had poor accuracy to select patients for antiviral therapy with an AUROC at 0.54 (0.49-0.60), sensitivity 46.6% and specificity 46.9%. In African treatment-naïve HBV-infected subjects, the clinical utility of qHBsAg to identify subjects in HBeAg-negative infection phase or subjects eligible for antiviral therapy seems futile. Whether qHBsAg levels can be used as a predictor of long-term liver complications in Africa needs to be further investigated.

New Drugs for NASH and HIV Infection: Great Expectations for a Great Need.

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of clinical trials for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) are commonly excluded from these studies, usually due to concerns over drug-drug interactions associated with antiretroviral therapy. The Steatohepatitis in HIV Emerging Research Network, a group of international experts in hepatology and infectious diseases, discusses our current understanding on the interaction between human immunodeficiency virus and NASH, and the issues related to the inclusion of PLWH in NASH clinical trials. Recent trials addressing NASH treatment in PLWH are discussed. The risk of drug-drug interactions between antiretroviral therapy and aramchol, cenicriviroc, elafibranor, obeticholic acid and resmetirom (MGL-3196), which are currently in phase 3 trials for the treatment of NASH, are reviewed. A model for trial design to include PLWH is proposed, strongly advocating for the scientific community to include this group as a subpopulation within studies.

Improving care of migrants is key for viral hepatitis elimination in Europe.

By 2040, deaths from chronic viral hepatitis worldwide are projected to exceed those from human immunodeficiency virus infection, tuberculosis and malaria combined. The burden of this disease is predominantly carried by low-resource countries in Africa and Asia. In resource-rich countries, the epidemiological spread of viral hepatitis is partially driven by migrant movements from areas of high endemicity. In the last decade, Member States of the European Union and the European Economic Area have experienced an unprecedented influx of migrants, which has resulted in the polarization of political views about migration. In addition, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has worsened the economic and health conditions of migrants and contributed to hostility to ensuring their health rights. Moreover, the implementation of hostile laws in some host nations has increased the vulnerability of marginalized migrant subgroups, such as asylum seekers and undocumented individuals. These developments have complicated the historical challenge of identifying high-risk migrant groups for screening and treatment. However, if European countries can apply the simplified assessment tools and diagnostic tests for viral hepatitis that have been used for decentralized screening and monitoring in resource-poor countries, the uptake of care by migrants could be dramatically increased. Given the global calls for the elimination of viral hepatitis, European nations should recognize the importance of treating this vulnerable migrant population. Political and health strategies need to be adapted to meet this challenge and help eliminate viral hepatitis globally.

D'ici 2040, les décès causés par l'hépatite virale chronique dans le monde devraient dépasser ceux dus à trois grandes maladies réunies: l'infection au virus de l'immunodéficience humaine, la tuberculose et la malaria. Le fardeau que représente cette affection repose surtout sur les pays disposant de ressources limitées en Afrique et en Asie. Dans les pays riches en ressources, la propagation épidémiologique de l'hépatite virale est en partie liée aux mouvements migratoires depuis les zones à endémicité élevée. Au cours de la dernière décennie, les États membres de l'Union européenne et l'Espace économique européen ont connu un afflux de migrants sans précédent qui a polarisé les opinions politiques concernant la migration. En outre, la pandémie de maladie à coronavirus 2019 a aggravé la situation économique et sanitaire des migrants, contribuant à l'animosité ambiante à l'égard du respect de leurs droits en matière de santé. L'adoption de lois hostiles dans certains pays d'accueil a également accru la vulnérabilité des sous-groupes de migrants marginalisés, tels que les demandeurs d'asile et les sans-papiers. Des conditions qui compliquent la tâche d'identification des groupes de migrants à haut risque pour le dépistage et le traitement. Néanmoins, si les pays européens pouvaient appliquer les outils d'évaluation simplifiés et les tests de diagnostic de l'hépatite virale, qui ont été employés pour la surveillance et le dépistage décentralisé dans les pays disposant de ressources limitées, la prise en charge des migrants pourrait nettement s'améliorer. Compte tenu des nombreux appels internationaux à éliminer l'hépatite virale, les nations européennes devraient reconnaître l'importance de soigner ces populations de migrants vulnérables. Les stratégies politiques et sanitaires doivent être adaptées afin de relever ce défi et de contribuer à éradiquer l'hépatite virale dans le monde.

Para 2040, se prevé que las muertes por hepatitis vírica crónica en todo el mundo superen a las causadas por la infección del virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana, la tuberculosis y la malaria juntas. La carga de esta enfermedad recae sobre todo en los países con recursos limitados de África y Asia. En los países ricos en recursos, la propagación epidemiológica de las hepatitis víricas se debe en parte a los movimientos migratorios desde las zonas altamente endémicas. En la última década, los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea y del Espacio Económico Europeo han experimentado una afluencia de inmigrantes sin precedentes, lo que ha polarizado las opiniones políticas sobre la inmigración. Además, la pandemia de la enfermedad del coronavirus de 2019 ha empeorado las condiciones económicas y sanitarias de los inmigrantes y ha contribuido a la hostilidad para garantizar sus derechos sanitarios. Además, la aplicación de leyes hostiles en algunas naciones de acogida ha aumentado la vulnerabilidad de subgrupos de inmigrantes marginados, como los solicitantes de asilo y los indocumentados. Estos acontecimientos han complicado el reto histórico de identificar a los grupos de inmigrantes de alto riesgo para su detección y tratamiento. Sin embargo, si los países europeos pueden aplicar las herramientas de evaluación y las pruebas de diagnóstico simplificadas para la hepatitis vírica que se han utilizado para el cribado y el seguimiento descentralizados en los países con pocos recursos, la aceptación de la atención por parte de los inmigrantes podría aumentar drásticamente. Dados los llamamientos mundiales para la eliminación de la hepatitis vírica, las naciones europeas deberían reconocer la importancia de tratar a esta población inmigrante vulnerable. Es necesario adaptar las estrategias políticas y sanitarias para hacer frente a este reto y ayudar a eliminar la hepatitis vírica a nivel mundial.

Hepatitis B Core-related Antigen: An Alternative to Hepatitis B Virus DNA to Assess Treatment Eligibility in Africa.

BACKGROUND: To eliminate hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, it is essential to scale up testing and treatment. However, conventional tools to assess treatment eligibility, particularly nucleic acid testing (NAT) to quantify HBV DNA, are hardly available and affordable in resource-limited countries. We therefore assessed the performance of a novel immunoassay, hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg), as an inexpensive (US$ <15/assay) alternative to NAT to diagnose clinically important HBV DNA thresholds (≥2000, ≥20 000, and ≥200 000 IU/mL) and to select patients for antiviral therapy in Africa. METHODS: Using a well-characterized cohort of treatment-naive patients with chronic HBV infection in The Gambia, we evaluated the accuracy of serum HBcrAg to diagnose HBV DNA levels and to indicate treatment eligibility determined by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, based on reference tests (HBV DNA, hepatitis B e antigen, alanine aminotransferase, liver histopathology, and/or FibroScan). RESULTS: A total of 284 treatment-naive patients were included in the analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), sensitivity, and specificity of serum HBcrAg were 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], .82-.93), 83.3%, and 83.9%, respectively, to diagnose HBV DNA ≥2000 IU/mL; and 0.94 (95% CI, .88-.99), 91.4%, and 93.2% for ≥200 000 IU/mL. A simplified treatment algorithm using HBcrAg without HBV DNA showed high AUROC (0.91 [95% CI, .88-.95]) with a sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 85.8%. CONCLUSIONS: HBcrAg might be an accurate alternative to HBV DNA quantification as a simple and inexpensive tool to identify HBV-infected patients in need of antiviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries.

Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B: What more needs to be done to eliminate it around the world?

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a key component of the hepatitis B burden worldwide. Despite its efficacy to prevent HBV transmission, infant vaccination is not enough to control HBV MTCT. Additional efforts are urgently needed to evaluate and scale-up preventive strategies especially in endemic countries, which are most affected. This review highlights the efficacy and barriers of the currently validated measures for the prevention of HBV MTCT and proposes alternatives adapted to resource-limited settings to eventually achieve HBV elimination worldwide.

Hepatitis B in sub-Saharan Africa-How many patients need therapy?

Hepatitis B is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa with ~60 million people chronically infected. While prevention, through vaccination, is central to elimination strategies, only 11 countries have birth dose vaccination and full vaccine coverage remains at suboptimal levels. Furthermore, to fully realize elimination, those chronically infected need to be identified, assessed for therapy and then linked to care. Given current treatment criteria, the precise quantum of people warranting therapy, according to criteria, is essentially unknown. The issue is further complicated by data to suggest differences in the numbers of people requiring treatment when applying WHO as compared to European Association for the Study of the Liver, EASL, criteria. Optimal determination of treatment eligibility is further hindered by the lack of available tools to adequately assess individual patients. It is conceivable that accurately determining the number of those requiring treatment, given the heterogeneity of hepatitis B in Africa, is difficult. Better studies and data are required. More signifcantly, improved access and availability to the diagnostic tools needed to assess patients in additon to access to drugs are as, if not more important, to achieve elimination.

Cost-effectiveness of strategies to improve HCV screening, linkage-to-care and treatment in remand prison settings in England.

BACKGROUND: A simplified cascade-of-care may improve screening and treatment uptake among incarcerated individuals. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of traditional and simplified screening and treatment in a London remand prison. METHODS: Using empirical data from Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Wormwood Scrubs, London, we designed a decision tree and Markov transition state model using national average data for HCV screening and treatment for the base-case scenario. This compared two alternative strategies; (a) general prison population screening and treatment and (b) prioritising screening and treatment among people who inject drugs (PWID) combined with general prison population screening and treatment. Strategies varied the rates of screening (47%-90%), linkage-to-care (60%-86%) and treatment (21%-85%). Cost, utility and disease transition rates were obtained from existing literature. Outcome measures were as follows: screening, treatment and disease-related costs per admitted individual, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated for each intervention. All costs and utilities were discounted at a rate of 3.5% per annum. Both univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses have been conducted. RESULTS: In our cohort of 5239 incarcerated individuals with an estimated chronic HCV prevalence of 2.6%, all strategy ICER values (£3565-10 300) fell below the national willingness to pay threshold (£30 000). Increased successful treatment (7%-54%) was observed by an optimising cascade-of-care. A robust sensitivity analysis identified treatment cost of, QALY for mild liver disease and probability of completing treatment as important factors that impact the ICER value. CONCLUSION: In our remand setting, optimising adherence to the cascade-of-care is cost-effective. Where universal screening is not practical, a stratified approach focused on intensive screening and treatment of PWID also results in increased treatment uptake and is highly cost-effective.

In-field evaluation of Xpert® HCV viral load Fingerstick assay in people who inject drugs in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Although novel hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA point-of-care technology has the potential to enhance the diagnosis in resource-limited settings, very little real-world validation of their utility exists. We evaluate the performance of HCV RNA quantification using the Xpert® HCV viral load Fingerstick assay (Xpert® HCV VL Fingerstick assay) as compared to the World Health Organisation pre-qualified plasma Xpert® HCV VL assay among people who inject drugs (PWID) attending an opioid agonist therapy (OAT) clinic in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. METHODS: Between December 2018 and February 2019, consecutive HCV seropositive PWID attending the OAT clinic provided paired venous and Fingerstick samples for HCV RNA quantification. These were processed onsite using the GeneXpert® platform located at the Central tuberculosis reference laboratory. RESULTS: A total of 208 out of 220 anti-HCV-positive participants recruited (94.5%) had a valid Xpert® HCV VL result available; 126 (61%; 95% CI 53.8-67.0) had detectable and quantifiable HCV RNA. About 188 (85%) participants had paired plasma and Fingerstick whole blood samples; the sensitivity and specificity for the quantification of HCV RNA levels were 99.1% and 98.7% respectively. There was an excellent correlation (R2  = .95) and concordance (mean difference 0.13 IU/mL, (95% CI -0.9 to 0.16 IU/mL) in HCV RNA levels between plasma samples and Fingerstick samples. CONCLUSION: This study found excellent performance of the Xpert® HCV VL Fingerstick assay for HCV RNA detection and quantification in an African-field setting. Its clinical utility represents an important watershed in overcoming existing challenges to HCV diagnosis, which should play a crucial role in HCV elimination in Africa.

Long-term clinical benefits of Sofosbuvir-based direct antiviral regimens for patients with chronic hepatitis C in Central and West Africa.

BACKGROUND: In Sub-Saharan Africa, chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a major public health issue. We estimated the long-term clinical benefits of treating CHC with sofosbuvir-based regimens in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal using Markov model combining data from the literature with estimates of direct-acting antiviral (DAAs) effectiveness in West and Central Africa. METHODS: Disease progression was simulated with and without treatment in fictive cohorts of patients "diagnosed" with CHC in Cameroon (n = 3224), Côte d'Ivoire (n = 9748) and Senegal (n = 6358). Lifetime treatment benefits were assessed using (a) life-years saved (LYS); (b) life-years (LY) avoided in compensated cirrhosis (CC), decompensated cirrhosis (DC) and hepatocellular carcinoma; and (c) comparison of the proportions of patients at each disease stage with and without treatment. Probabilistic and determinist sensitivity analyses were performed to address uncertainty. RESULTS: Sofosbuvir-based treatment would save [mean, 95% confidence intervals] 3.3 (2.5; 5.7) LY per patient in Cameroon, 2.7 (2.1; 4.8) in Côte d'Ivoire and 3.6 (2.8; 6.3) in Senegal. With treatment, approximately 6% (1%) of the patients still alive in each of the study countries would be in the CC (DC) health state 11 (15) years after CHC diagnosis, vs 15% (5%) without treatment. Scenario analysis showed earlier diagnosis and treatment initiation would dramatically improve LYS and morbidity. CONCLUSION: Sofosbuvir-based treatment could significantly reduce CHC-related mortality and help control CHC-related liver disease progression in West and Central Africa. However, the goal of disease elimination necessitates a substantial decrease in DAAs prices, greater political commitment and increases in both national and external health expenditures.

High prevalence and poor linkage to care of transfusion-transmitted infections among blood donors in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Blood transfusion is one of the most commonly relied upon therapies in sub-Saharan Africa. Existing safeguards recommended include systematic screening for transfusion-transmitted infections and restricted voluntary nonremunerated blood donor selection. We report the transfusion-transmitted infection screening and notification practice at a large urban blood transfusion centre in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Between October 2016 and March 2017 anonymized records of all donors registered at the blood transfusion unit were accessed to retrospectively note demographic information, donor status, first-time status, transfusion-transmitted infection result and notification. 6402 consecutive donors were screened for transfusion-transmitted infections; the majority were family/replacement blood donors (88.0%) and male (83.8%). Overall transfusion-transmitted infections prevalence was 8.4% (95% CI 7.8-9.1), with hepatitis B being the most prevalent infection (4.1% (95% CI 3.6-4.6)). Transfusion-transmitted infections were more common in family/replacement blood donors (9.0% (95% CI 8.3-9.8)) as compared to voluntary nonremunerated blood donor (4.1% (95% CI 2.8-5.7)). A minority of infected-donors were notified of a positive result (8.5% (95% CI 6.3-11.2)). Although transfusion-transmitted infections are more prevalent among family/replacement blood donors, overall risk of transfusion-transmitted infections across all groups is considerable. In addition, existing efforts to notify donors of a positive transfusion-transmitted infection are poor. Future policies must focus on improving linkage to care for newly diagnosed patients with transfusion-transmitted infections.