The characteristics of viral hepatitis B and D co-infection are poorly documented in Chad. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of HBV/HDV co-infection and the characteristics of this co-infection. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study including all patients with chronic HBsAg carriers referred in our department from January 2014 to December 2018. Non-inclusion criteria were: absence of anti-HDV testing, presence of anti-viral hepatitis C or Human Immunodeficiency Virus antibodies or excessive alcohol consumption. The variables studied were age, sex, blood transaminase level, HBV DNA level, HDV RNA level, and liver fibrosis and activity score (Actitest Fibrotest). The prevalence of HDV and the characteristics of HDV/HBV co-infection were determined. Results: During the study period, 403 patients were seen in these two hospitals for chronic HBsAg carriage. Of these, 378 (75%) had performed the anti HDV assay. Anti-HDV antibodies were positive in 53 patients (14%). In multivariate analysis, HBV/HDV co-infected patients were less frequently HBeAg positive (5.4% vs. 28.1%; p = 0.0001), older (35 years vs. 32 years; p = 0.001), and more frequently had significant necrotic-inflammatory activity (3.9% vs. 3.2%; p = 0.031) compared with mono infected patients. Neither gender (76.9% male vs. 77.4% male; p = ns), nor viral load (median 530 IU/ml vs. 195 IU/ml; p = ns), nor significant liver fibrosis (35.1% vs. 47.1%; p = ns), nor transaminases (median 26 vs. 32 IU/ml) were different with mono infected patients. Conclusion: VHD is common in Chad. It is associated with increased hepatic necrotic-inflammatory activity.
Introduction: Chronic hepatitis B virus infection is very common in sub-Saharan Africa and widely distributed worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus in N'Djamena, Chad. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the city of N'Djamena. Three neighborhoods were randomly selected. The methodology applied was a two-stage probability survey with the neighborhoods as the primary unit and the squares (sectors) as the secondary unit. Persons from the selected households were screened for HBV infection. Results: Two hundred and ninety-nine (299) individuals were recruited in this study series. The majority were men (69.6%). The mean age was 29.5 ± 9 years with extremes of 15 to 45 years. The prevalence of those screened was 24.1% with a male predominance (54.1%). There was a statistically significant difference between HBsAg carriage and sex (p = 0.001). On the other hand, the difference between HBV carriage and education level was not statistically significant. In addition, few people had information on the modes of transmission of HBV and their serological status. Conclusion: Viral hepatitis B is a major global public health problem. However, most of the people recruited in this series were unaware of their status and very few had information on this disease.
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