Prevalence of hepatitis B and C markers among refugees in Athens

AIM: To assess the prevalence of hepatitis B and C serological markers in a population of refugees living in Athens.METHODS: One hundred and thirty refugees (81 males and 49 females, mean age ±SD: 31.7±8 years) were included in the study. The hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg),the hepatitis B virus core antibody (anti-HBc) and the hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) were detected using a third-generation immunoassay.RESULTS: Twenty individuals (15.4%) were HBsAg positive and 69 (53.1%) were anti-HBc positive. The prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HBc was higher among refugees from Albania and Asia (statistical significant difference, P＜0.008 and P＜0.001 respectively). The prevalence of these markers was found irrelevant to age or sex. Anti-HCV was detected in the serum of 3 individuals (2.3 %). No differences among age, sex or ethnicity regarding anti-HCV prevalence were found.CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that refugees living in Athens are an immigrant population characterized by a high incidence of HBV infection. The prevalence of HBV markers is higher among refugees from Albania and Asia. It is therefore believed that the adherence to general precautions and the initiation of HBV vaccination programs will be necessary in the future, especially in these communities.Although the prevalence of HCV infection seems to be relatively low, extended epidemiological surveys are needed to provide valid results.

Full-length core sequence dependent complex-type glycosylation of hepatitis C virus E2 glycoprotein

AIM: To study HCV polyprotein processing is important for the understanding of the natural history of HCV and the design of vaccines against HCV. The purpose of this study is to investigate the affection of context sequences on hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 processing. METHODS: HCV genes of different lengths were expressed and compared in vaccinia virus/T7 system with homologous patient serum S94 and mouse anti-serum M( E2116) raised against E.coli -derived E2 peptide, respectively.Deglycosylation analysis and GNA ( Galanthus nivalus ) lectin binding assay were performed to study the post-translational processing of the expressed products. RESULTS: E2 glycoproteins with different molecular weights (-75 kDa and -60 kDa) were detected using S94 and M( E2116), respectively. Deglycosylation analysis showed that this difference was mainly due to different glycosylation. Endo H resistance and its failure to bind to GNA lectin demonstrated that the higher molecular weight form (75 kDa) of E2 was complex-type glycosylated, which was readily recognized by homologous patient serum S94. Expression of complex-type glycosylated E2 could not be detected in all of the core-truncated constructs tested, but readily detected in constructs encoding full-length core sequences. CONCLUSION: The upstream conserved full-length core coding sequence was required for the production of E2 glycoproteins carrying complex-type N-glycans which reacted strongly with homologous patient serum and therefore possibly represented more mature forms of E2. As complex-type N-glycans indicated modification by Golgi enzymes, the results suggest that the presence of full-length core might be critical for E1/E2 complex to leave ER. Our data may contribute to a better understanding of the processing of HCV structural proteins as well as HCV morphogenesis.

Hepatitis C virus micro-elimination:Where do we stand?

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination by 2030, using direct-acting antiviraltreatments, has been promoted by the World Health Organization. Thisachievement is not attainable, however, particularly after the 2020 pandemic ofthe coronavirus disease 2019. Consequently, the more realistic objective ofeliminating HCV from population segments for which targeted strategies ofprevention and treatment are easily attained has been promoted in Europe, as avalid alternative. The underlying idea is that micro-elimination will ultimatelylead to macro-elimination. The micro-elimination strategy may target differentspecific populations and at-risk groups. Different settings, including prisons andhospitals, have also been identified as micro-elimination scenarios. In addition,dedicated micro-elimination strategies have been designed that are tailored at thegeographical level according to HCV epidemiology and individual country’sincome. The main elements of a valid and successful micro-elimination project arereliable epidemiological data and active involvement of all the stakeholders.Community involvement represents another essential component for a successfulprogram.

The Paper Symposium on PLC VIRAL HEPATITIS（HBV AND HCV）BACKGROUND IN CHINESE PATIENTS WITH HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

Antibody to hepatitis C virus (AntiHCV) was detected using antiHCV EIA (Abbott Kit) in the sera of Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis and blood donors, the positive rates being 10.4% (61/586),11. 8% (10/85),19.2% (44/229), ana 1. 9% (3/160) respectively. HBV DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in sera from 61 HCC patients with positive antiHCV, the positive rate for HBV DNA being 55.7% (34/61),which was lower than those with negative antiHCV (78.7%) , 413/525). These results indicate that in Chuia the role of HBV infection in the causation of HCC seems to be more important than that of HCV infection.

A hiddenly high hepatitis C virus related liver disease burden among Chinese patients with non-liver disease complaints: A hospital based study from 2013 to 2017

Objective: To determine the frequency of anti-HCV antibody positivity in patients with nonliver disease complaints, to explore whether anti-HCV positive patients had been properly advised and visited hepatologists for further assessments, and to investigate their clinical characteristics as well as the HCV treatment status.Methods: A hospital based survey of nonliver disease patients with anti-HCV positive and their attending physicians was conducted to determine: 1.were the patients adequately advised of the implication of anti-HCV positive finding; 2.to what extent the patients were aware of potential chronic liver disease associated with HCV infection and whether they sought for further assessments and care of hepatologists.Results: A total of 295 294 non-liver disease patients were tested for anti-HCV antibody, and 2 778 of them were found to be positive(0.94%).However, only 45.10%(1 253/2 778) of the anti-HCV antibody(+) patients were referred to hepatologists and received HCV RNA test.In addition, 34.10%(312/915) and 1.42%(13/915) of them had already advanced to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), respectively.Further analysis showed that the patients who declined antiviral therapy were older, with lower education and lower income, possessed poorer knowledge on the risk of chronic hepatitis C, and had more severe liver diseases.Surprisingly, 65% of the surveyed physicians did not know the genotype-guided treatment duration suggested by the guidelines.Alarmingly, 22% of the surveyed physicians did not know the standard assays for the diagnosis of HCV infection.Conclusions: Our findings highlight the challenge and hidden enormous burden of chronic HCV infection among patients with non-liver disease complaints in China.

Comparative Study on 4 EIA Kits for Screening Antibody to Hepatitis C Virus in Pooled Sera

Four enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test kits, 1 Canadian product and 3 Chinese products,were used in the comparative study. Each pool consisted of 5 sera, and the 5 single sera were tested as controls. The tests were carried out according to the instructions, keeping the same dilution of each serum in single and pool samples. It was found that with the Canadian kit,the positive and negative results of opled sera had no difference from that of the controls (P>0. 10). In the case of Chinese Yali and Kehua kits, the positive results of pooled sera showed no difference from the controls (P >0. 10), but the optical density (OD) of negative opls were increased (P < 0. 01 ), though quite distant from the cut-off values. In the case of Changzheng kit, the OD of opitive opls were significantly lower than those of the controls (P < 0. 05 ), and weak positive samples missed the detection. However this problem could be overcome by blocking the microwells beforehand. Our experiment demonstrate that not all EIA test kits are suitable for screening opls for antithey to hepatitis C virus, and that it is important to assess the sensitivity of the EIA kit to be used for this purpose.

Evaluate the prevalence and trend of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in Nahavand: west of Iran, 2013–2017

Viral hepatitis is a global threat to public health and one of the leading causes of death worldwide.Often,acute viral cases in children and adults are associated with viral hepatitis A,B,C,D and E,or co-infection with two types of hepatitis.Infection with these viruses is a global health problem and continuous efforts are in place to identify infected people through targeted screening,preventing new infections through vaccination,monitoring and treating people at risk for complications of all types of hepatitis.The aim of this study was to determine the evaluate the prevalence and trends of hepatitis B and C infection in the Nahavand city during 5 consecutive years(2013–2017).The total number of patients with hepatitis B and C was 141 persons from March 2013 to March 2017,of these,101 had hepatitis B,and 40 had hepatitis C.The prevalence of hepatitis B and C was higher in men than women.The percentage frequency hepatitis B in the city in the last five years was 0.05 percent.11 cases(10.89%)pregnant women and Six cases(5.9%)receiving blood(blood transfusions)in Hepatitis B was observed.the prevalence of hepatitis C was 0.2%at the end of 2017.The study on the cause of hepatitis C in Nahavand has shown that 21(52.5%)of the total of 40 people were infected with addiction.The interesting point in this report is that according to reports from viral hepatitis testing questionnaires,24 of 101 people with type B hepatitis have 23.7%of people with a history of complete vaccination of hepatitis B and one person(0.9%)had incomplete vaccination.A significant relationship was found between the level of education and the prevalence of hepatitis(P=0.005).

Murine antibody against E2 can capture hepatitis C virus in vitro

Objective To find neutralizing antibody candidates against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.Methods We constructed two eukaryotic expression vectors which contained the E1 and E2 gene of HCV, and detected their expression in mammalian cells with transient expression. BALB/c mice were given subculaneous injections of constructed vectors combined with the IL-2 gene intraepidermally and evaluated for induced humoral immune responses by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We used an antibody-virus interaction assay to analyze the interaction of the antisera and HCV viral particles in vitro.Results Anti E1 and anti-E2 antisera were obtained from immunized mice. The serum of mice immunized with the E2 gene immunoprecipitated the HCV isolate in source serum and reacted with the isolates unrelated to the original one.Conclusions Anti-E2 antibody in induced mice can cross-reactively capture HCV particles, highlighting the possibility of generating broadly reactive anti-E2 antibodies.