Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Markers among Patients of the Ibn Sina University Hospital Center (Rabat, Morocco)

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Viral hepatitis B is a global scourge affecting millions of people worldwide. In Morocco, hepatitis B is considered a public health problem, and available data converge to consider Morocco as a country with intermediate endemicity. In the present study, we have planned to evaluate the HBV prevalence in Morocco on a large scale and to assess the prevalence of different serological markers for better management of this infection in Morocco. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This study was conducted on 18,877 patients referring to the Ibn Sina University Hospital Center of Rabat, Morocco. HBV serological markers including HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAg, HBeAb, and total HBcAb were assessed by immune-enzymatic assays. The quantification of HBV DNA was performed by real-time PCR. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The overall prevalence of positive cases for HBsAg, HBsAb, and total HBcAb was 2.47%, 27.66%, and 21.2%, respectively. From 141 patients with an isolated HBcAb serological profile (HBcAb+/HBsAb−/HBsAg−), HBV DNA was detected in 10 patients, representing a rate of 7.09%. In the present study, up to 95.78% of HBV chronic carriers were negative for HBeAg. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study highlights a higher prevalence of HBsAg in the hospital-based population than the general population reported previously in Morocco and a very low HBV immunization coverage. Of particular interest, detectable HBV DNA levels in isolated HBcAb patients show that exclusive HBsAg screening cannot eliminate the risk of HBV transmission in certain cases. Many efforts are then mandatory to promote serological testing and increase the vaccination rate to limit viral dissemination for better management of this disease in Morocco.

Prevalence of HBsAg among Moroccan HIV-1 infected patients and APOBEC3G variant frequencies in HIV-1/HBV co-infection

“…Morocco is classified as a low HBV endemic area and the prevalence of co-infection among the cohort of HIV-infected individuals in our study (4.90%) was almost twice as high as in the general population [23]. The prevalence of HBV was 2.5% in our CG, which confirms previous Moroccan findings (1.5% among blood donors and 2.5% through patients referred to the Ibn Sina University Hospital Center of Rabat) [8,17] and those reported by countries with a low endemicity for HBV.…”

“…Thus, HIV-1/HBV co-infection alters the natural progression of hepatitis B and complicates antiviral treatment [5]. According to WHO data, Morocco was ranked among the low-prevalence countries for HBV [6] with estimated prevalences ranging from 1.5% to 2.5% [7,8]. However, given that the frequency of HIV-1/HBV coinfection varies from 0% to > 28.4% in African countries [9], no study has investigated the possible association between HIV infection and the prevalence of HBV infection in Morocco.…”

Serological profile of chronic hepatitis B carriers – A tertiary care experience

“…Among females, five were antenatal mothers (4.1% of total study group). Similar preponderance of males is seen in studies such as Hamida et al, 13 while Borgaonkar and Shahapur, 12 and Feindiri et al, 14 show a female preponderance. There was no significant association between gender distribution and HBeAg positivity.…”

Trends in Adult and Elderly Vaccination: Focus on Vaccination Practices in Tunisia and Morocco

“…About 2.7 million (7.4%) of the 36.7 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) are also infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) of which 71% co-infected patients are from sub-Saharan Africa (66). In Africa, the seroprevalence of HBV infection ranges from 3 to 20% (28). Several studies reported Morocco as low endemic region with seroprevalence around 1.8%, and the males showed higher prevalence than females in all the age groups, especially among aged 30-50 years (29).…”

“…Pertussis is another VPD, which remains a concern in many regions despite vaccination (69). According to WHO, the prevalence of pertussis has decreased from 150,000 cases to 65,000 cases from 2019 to 2020 (28). Most cases of pertussis are among children <1 year old, however, adults are considered as the main reservoir of transmission of the disease to unvaccinated young children (30).…”