Four major genotypes of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) have been documented worldwide (1–4) with genotypes 1 and 2 found in human in Sub-Saharan Africa. Human Hepatitis cases due to HEV genotype 3 and 4 are zoonotic with various animal identified as possible reservoirs. Recently, HEV genotype 3 was found in pigs and human beings in West Africa, which may change the epidemic in human. Here, we assessed the prevalence of HEV antibodies in various domestic and wild mammalians in Burkina Faso. Random sampling was performed between 2015 and 2017 to collect serum from 100 rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) , 19 hares ( Lepus africana ), 72 cattle (Bos taurus) , 75 sheep (Ovis aries) and 81 goats (Capra aegagrus) in three provinces in Burkina Faso. A multi-species ELISA was performed on serum samples from 328 domestic animals and 19 hunting hares. HEV total antibodies were identified in 121 out of 347 specimens (34.9% CI95% [29.9–39.9]). Sera from rabbits (60% CI95% [50.4–69.6]), hares (52.6% CI95% [30.2–75.1]), cattle (26.4% CI95% [16.2–36.6]), sheep (12.0% CI95% [4.6–19.4]), and goats (28.4% CI95% [18.6–38.2]) tested positive for antibodies anti-HEV. In this study we evidence presence of HEV antibodies in various mammalians and highlight the importance of these species in the epidemiology of HEV infection in Burkina Faso.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major public health concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. Early research in Ivory Coast showed that chronic hepatitis B and aflatoxin B1 exposure were the two most important etiological agents of HCC in the country but, surprisingly, no survey analyzing HCC etiologies has been conducted since decades.In a preliminary report, we characterized for hepatitis B and C markers 30 consecutive cases of HCC recruited from Abidjan hospitals between June 2011 and December 2012. Nutritional and lifestyle features of patients were analyzed as well. The mean age of the patients was 53 ± 15 years with a sex ratio (M:F = 2.7). HBsAg was the most frequent viral marker in the series (63 %). All HBV isolates belonged to genotype E. With regards to regional standard, anti-HCV reached a very high level (47 %) in the present series. Hepatitis C was more frequent among patients living outside Abidjan (83 vs 23 %, P = 0.009). Patients living in Abidjan were significantly younger than individual living elsewhere in the country (48 ± 14 vs 60 ± 16 years old, P = 0.038) reflecting a possible role for local environmental pollution in tumor progression. Finally, we observed that patients born in Mandé/Gur-speaking regions (North) were younger (48 ± 14 vs 59 ± 15, P = 0.05) and consumed maize more frequently (80 vs 26 %, P = 0.009) than other patients. Interestingly, maize consumption was associated with a trend for aminotransferases elevation (mean = 1.7-1.8 fold, P = 0.06) suggesting a direct hepatic toxicity of this staple food in Ivory Coast. In conclusion, our work indicates that HCC epidemiology underwent recently major drifts in Ivory Coast.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13027-015-0013-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Viral hepatitis is a serious public health problem affecting billions of people globally. Limited information is available on this issue inCote d'Ivoire. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and factors associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) during an active screening campaign in Abidjan. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Pasteur Institute of Cote d'Ivoire from July 2015 to February 2016. The ethical clearance for this study was obtained from the National Ethical and Research Committee. An informed written consent was obtained from the participants of the study and administered a questionnaire related to the socio demographical information and risk factors of a possible route transmission HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Blood samples were collected for the detection of HBS Ag, Ab-HBc IgG and Ab-HCV. Serological analyses were performed by Cobase 601 (Roche R ). Data were analyzed by R software. A total of 1801 patients were recruited; among them 138 children (7.7%) aged from 0 to 15 years and 1663 adults (92.3%). The sex ratio was 1.2 (964/837). The overall prevalence of HBsAg was 30. 9% (557/1801) and 41.1% (702/1708) for Ab-HBc IgG. About HCV, the overall prevalence rate was 5.3% (95/1687), none of the children was HCV positive. The co-infection HBV/HCV rate was 0.95% (16/1687). HCV was associated with age and sexual risk behaviors. HBV was associated with gender, youth, sexual risk behaviors, and scarification. Our findings revealed a high prevalence of HBV. The measures to reduce the disease and its load transmission must be strengthened.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the tenth leading cause of death worldwide. Mother‐to‐child transmission of HBV occurring mainly at delivery remains one of the most common routes of infection in developing countries. One of the main challenges concerning HBV in Africa is to implement a prevention policy aiming at interrupting the cycle of pseudo‐vertical transmission of this infection. The aim of this study was to assess the implication of certain bacterial and viral factors in mother‐to‐child transmission of HBV. This prospective study was conducted on 165 pregnant women carriers of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and their 169 newborns who attended care at the Gynecology Department of the University Hospital of Cocody. Serological, molecular, and bacteriological analyses were performed on blood samples and vaginal secretions. Mean viral load (VL) was 4.5 ± 1.3 log10 IU/ml, while mean HBsAg titres were 3.5 ± 0.9 log10 IU/ml. HBV DNA was found in vaginal secretions in 13.3% of mothers and in the blood of 10.3% of the newborns. Six bacterial species were identified in the vaginal discharge of pregnant women during labour before delivery. Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis were the most frequent species found in 23.0% and 13.9% of cases. Mothers positive for vaginal HBV DNA displayed higher plasma HBV DNA loads than negative mothers (6.2 ± 1.6 log10 IU/ml vs. 4.3 ± 1.0 log10 IU/ml, p < .0001). In conclusion, our study showed that presence of HBV DNA in vaginal secretions and the presence of S. aureus could play a role in mother‐to‐child transmission of HBV. HBV DNA detection in vaginal discharge represents a promising biomarker to identify newborns at risk of perinatal persistent infection.

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In sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of co-infection with hepatitis D (HDV) and hepatitis B viruses (HBV) is poorly known. Chronic infection with HBV is currently treated by nucleoside analogs whereas