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Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a satellite of hepatitis B virus (HBV), and infection with this virus aggravates acute and chronic liver disease. While HBV seroprevalence is very high across sub-Saharan Africa, much less is known about HDV in the region. In this study, almost 2,300 blood serum samples from Burkina Faso (n ‫؍‬ 1,131), Nigeria (n ‫؍‬ 974), Chad (n ‫؍‬ 50), and the Central African Republic (n ‫؍‬ 118) were screened for HBV and HDV. Among 743 HBsAg-positive serum samples, 74 were positive for HDV antibodies and/or HDV RNA, with considerable differences in prevalence, ranging from <2% (pregnant women from Burkina Faso) to 50% (liver patients from Central African Republic). HDV seems to be much more common in chronic liver disease patients in the Central African Republic (CAR) than in similar cohorts in Nigeria. In a large nested mother-child cohort in Burkina Faso, the prevalence of HDV antibodies was 10 times higher in the children than in their mothers, despite similar HBsAg prevalences, excluding vertical transmission as an important route of infection. The genotyping of 16 full-length and 8 partial HDV strains revealed clade 1 (17/24) in three of the four countries, while clades 5 (5/24) and 6 (2/24) were, at least in this study, confined to Central Nigeria. On the amino acid level, almost all our clade 1 strains exhibited a serine at position 202 in the hepatitis D antigen, supporting the hypothesis of an ancient African HDV-1 subgroup. Further studies are required to understand the public health significance of the highly varied HDV prevalences in different cohorts and countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Phylogenetic analysis of 166 human parvovirus B19 sequences from 11 different countries attributed 91.57% to genotype 1, 5.42% to genotype 3b, and 3.01% to genotype 3a. Very similar viruses of genotype 1 circulated widely in Europe and Israel. Genotype 3b seems to show an increasing spread outside of Africa.Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) infections are usually associated with mild disease, but in immunocompromised and anemic patients, as well as during pregnancy, severe complications can occur. Based on the genetic variability of 994 nucleotides (nt) of the NS1/VP1-unique region junction, three distinct genotypes of B19V have been proposed (13). A recent report presented evidence that certain complications might be preferentially associated with certain virus genotypes (6). Several studies demonstrated that previously published or commercially available assays show differences in their diagnostic performance, including the inability to detect certain genotypes, especially genotype 3, subtype 3b (1, 5). Despite these important implications for the diagnosis of B19V, little is known about the genotypes prevalent in many countries.Serum samples collected between 2000 and 2008 mostly from rash/fever patients negative for both measles and rubella from 11 different countries were analyzed for B19V (Table 1). A nested PCR was performed with the forward primers e1855f and e1863f (13) and reverse primers B19-R1 (5Ј-GGGAACT TCCGGCAAACTTCCTTG-3Ј) and B19-R2 (5Ј-GTAGTCTT TTACTACTTGTGCTTG-3Ј), yielding fragments of 1,239 and 1,168 nt. Previously published reverse primers (13) have a maximum of three (e2953r) and four (e2960r) mismatches compared to B19V GenBank sequences, including 3Ј and 5Ј

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Introduction: Determination of the true prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is difficult in a hyper-endemic area like Nigeria with use of

Antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori is a factor preventing its successful eradication. Particularly in developing countries, resistance against commonly used antibiotics is widespread. Here, we present an epidemiological study from Nigeria with 111 isolates. We analyzed the associated disease outcome, and performed a detailed characterization of these isolated strains with respect to their antibiotic susceptibility and their virulence characteristics. Furthermore, statistical analysis was performed on microbiological data as well as patient information and the results of the gastroenterological examination. We found that the variability concerning the production of virulence factors between strains was minimal, with 96.4% of isolates being CagA-positive and 92.8% producing detectable VacA levels. In addition, high frequency of bacterial resistance was observed for metronidazole (99.1%), followed by amoxicillin (33.3%), clarithromycin (14.4%) and tetracycline (4.5%). In conclusion, this study indicated that the infection rate of H. pylori infection within the cohort in the present study was surprisingly low (36.6%). Furthermore, an average gastric pathology was observed by histological grading and bacterial isolates showed a uniform pathogenicity profile while indicating divergent antibiotic resistance rates.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> The burden of <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection (HPI) in Africa remains high with varying levels of prevalence among children and adults reported in different regions of the continent. Persistent and uneradicated HPI could result in gastric cancer, although less severe pathological outcomes have been reported among Africans – the so-called “African enigma.” <b><i>Summary:</i></b> Analysis of endoscopic findings of the upper gastrointestinal tract demonstrates similarities with that of patients from the West. Thus, it could be asserted that the true picture of HPI in Africa is yet to be unveiled due to several challenges including inadequate health-care system, lack of treatment guidelines and standardized protocol for diagnosis, and lack of data. This review explores the prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and health-care system in Africa as it relates to HPI, thus providing an update and highlighting the need for an African HPI guideline. <b><i>Key Messages</i></b>: There is high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection (HPI) in Africa with an increasing burden of antibiotic resistance. Various methods including invasive and noninvasive methods are deployed in the diagnosis of HPI in Africa. There is a need for consensus on diagnosis and treatment of HPI in Africa.