Hepatitis B and asymptomatic malaria coinfection in Sub-Saharan African immigrants: epidemiological and clinical features of HBV infection

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Here, we conducted an epidemiological study of hepatitis B virus (HBV) mono-infected and asymptomatic malaria/HBV coinfected immigrants and further discussed the possibility of malaria disease modifying the clinical presentation of HBV infection. METHODS: A total of 195 Africa...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
Main Authors: Gaetano Scotto, Vincenzina Fazio
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
Subjects:
HBV-asymptomatic malaria coinfection
Sub-Saharan African immigrants
HBV clinical features
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0430-2017
https://doaj.org/article/34a600c590d84883b9452dda235a71d5
Description
Summary:Abstract INTRODUCTION: Here, we conducted an epidemiological study of hepatitis B virus (HBV) mono-infected and asymptomatic malaria/HBV coinfected immigrants and further discussed the possibility of malaria disease modifying the clinical presentation of HBV infection. METHODS: A total of 195 African immigrants were examined for HBV infection or coinfection with HBV and asymptomatic malaria. HBV infection was diagnosed using serological tests and confirmed by PCR; furthermore, we performed a pan-Plasmodium-specific-nucleic-acid-sequence-based-amplification (NASBA) assay to detect asymptomatic malaria infection. The stage/grade of the liver disease was determined using echotomography and elastometry. RESULTS: PCR-NASBA results confirmed that 62 of 195 subjects (31.8%) were positive for Plasmodium infection, whereas 41 of 195 subjects (21%) tested positive for HBV chronic hepatitis (HBV-DNA positive). Among the HBV-positive subjects, 26 (63.4%) of them were mono-infected patients (Group A), whereas 15 (36.6%) patients had HBV chronic hepatitis and asymptomatic malaria coinfections (Group B). The HBV-DNA median levels were 1.4×105IU/mL in HBV-mono-infected patients and 2.0×105IU/mL in coinfected patients. Echotomography and hepatic elastometry presented similar findings for both groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Coinfected patients seem to present with the same clinical symptoms of the liver disease as HBV mono-infected patients.

Similar Items