Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis B in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Thompson, Peyton; Parr, Jonathan B.; Holzmayer, Vera; Carrel, Margaret; Tshefu, Antoinette; Mwandagalirwa, Kashamuka; Muwonga, Jérémie; Welo, Placide Okitayemba; Fwamba, Franck; Kuhns, Mary C.; Jhaveri, Ravi; Meshnick, Steven R.; Cloherty, Gavin

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.18-0883

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(27 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…12 However, the seroprevalence data are similar (3.3%) to the results found in national, representative dried blood spot samples that were collected during the 2013-2014 Demographic and Health Survey, which sought to determine the HBV prevalence among adults and children living in the DRC. 13 Compared with other countries, the seroprevalence rate we found is also lower than that found in Uganda (where 11.8% pregnant women tested positive for HBsAg), 14 in Congo-Brazzaville (8.7%), 15 in South Sudan (11%), 16 in Sudan (8.5%), 17 and in Cameroon (9.4%). 18 However, this seroprevalence rate turns out to be superior to that found in Pointe-Noire, Congo-Brazzaville (2.6%).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 68%

Seroprevalence of Viral Hepatitis B and C and Knowledge of the Hepatitis B Virus among Pregnant Women Attending Prenatal Care in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Mudji

Madinga

Horsmans

2021

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Viral hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) can significantly influence maternal and child health. Although HIV infection, malaria, and syphilis in pregnant women are likely to be systematically screened for and managed according to national guidelines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is no plan for HBV and HCV. Furthermore, there is no documentation regarding pregnant women's knowledge about HBV and HCV. This situation has motivated the researchers to undertake the current study, which was designed to estimate the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV. We have also assessed knowledge of the HBV infection among pregnant women who consulted for antenatal care for the first time at Vanga Evangelical Hospital in Vanga. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 457 pregnant women who attended antenatal care. Sociodemographic, obstetric, and previous medico-surgical data, as well as information related to women's HBV knowledge, were collected using a questionnaire. Rapid tests were used to detect HBV surface antigen and HCV antibodies. Most pregnant women were aged 20-24 years. Only 6.8% of respondents had knowledge of HBV, and the main source of this knowledge was health facilities (4.6%). Only 0.7% reported having been tested, whereas 98.5% said that they had not been offered a test. Overall, 18 (3.9%) participants were HBV positive and 22 (4.8%) were positive for HCV. There is limited knowledge about HBV and HCV among pregnant women in rural Vanga. All pregnant women should be screened during antenatal care, and a well-implemented program of management is needed.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 68%

Seroprevalence of Viral Hepatitis B and C and Knowledge of the Hepatitis B Virus among Pregnant Women Attending Prenatal Care in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Mudji

Madinga

Horsmans

2021

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The prevalence of HBV infection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 3•3%, with a high prevalence of 2•2% among children younger than 5 years, which correlates to at least 300 000 Congolese children living with chronic HBV infection and at risk for liver disease and premature death. 9,10 Although HBV vaccination has been part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The prevalence of HBV infection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 3·3%, with a high prevalence of 2∙2% among children younger than 5 years, which correlates to at least 300 000 Congolese children living with chronic HBV infection and at risk for liver disease and premature death. 9 , 10 Although HBV vaccination has been part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation since 2007, the first dose is not administered until 6 weeks of life, which is too late for the prevention of peripartum mother-to-child transmission. Similarly, no screening programmes to identify and treat pregnant women with high-risk HBV infections exist, despite established infrastructure for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arresting vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (AVERT-HBV) in pregnant women and their neonates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a feasibility study

Thompson

Morgan

Ngimbi

et al. 2021

The Lancet Global Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains endemic throughout sub-Saharan Africa despite the widespread availability of effective childhood vaccines. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, HBV treatment and birthdose vaccination programmes are not established. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of adding HBV testing and treatment of pregnant women as well as the birth-dose vaccination of HBV-exposed infants to the HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. MethodsWe did a feasibility study in two maternity centres in Kinshasa: Binza and Kingasani. Using the already established HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme at these two maternity centres, we screened pregnant women for HBV infection at routine prenatal care registration. Those who tested positive and had a gestational age of 24 weeks or less were included in this study. Eligible pregnant women with a high viral load (≥200 000 IU/mL or HBeAg positivity, or both) were considered as having HBV of high risk of mother-to-child transmission and initiated on oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (300 mg/day) between 28 weeks and 32 weeks of gestation and continued through 12 weeks post partum. All HBV-exposed infants received a birth-dose of monovalent HBV vaccine (Euvax-B Pediatric: Sanofi Pasteur, Seoul, South Korea; 0•5 mL) within 24 h of life. All women were followed up for 24 weeks post partum, when they completed an exit questionnaire that assessed the acceptability of study procedures. The primary outcomes were the feasibility of screening pregnant women to identify those at high risk for HBV mother-to-child transmission and to provide them with antiviral prophylaxis, the feasibility of administrating the birth-dose vaccine to exposed infants, and the acceptability of this prevention programme. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03567382.

show abstract

“…The HBV-related deaths were calculated by applying stage-, sex-, and age-specific mortality rates to the HBV-infected population. Updated prevalence estimates since the last publication were incorporated in the analysis ( United States Ministry of Health, 2018 ; Ministry of Health, 2018 ; Quaglio et al, 2008 ; Shrestha, 1990 ; Thompson et al, 2019 ; Tshering et al, 2020 ; UPHIA, 2017 ). Uncertainty in a wide range of model inputs, detailed below, was modeled to estimate the uncertainty in all model outputs.…”

Section: Vaccine Coverage Forecastsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lives saved with vaccination for 10 pathogens across 112 countries in a pre-COVID-19 world

Toor

Echeverría-Londoño

et al. 2021

eLife

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background:Vaccination is one of the most effective public health interventions. We investigate the impact of vaccination activities for Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis B, human papillomavirus, Japanese encephalitis, measles, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A, rotavirus, rubella, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and yellow fever over the years 2000–2030 across 112 countries.Methods:Twenty-one mathematical models estimated disease burden using standardised demographic and immunisation data. Impact was attributed to the year of vaccination through vaccine-activity-stratified impact ratios.Results:We estimate 97 (95%CrI[80, 120]) million deaths would be averted due to vaccination activities over 2000–2030, with 50 (95%CrI[41, 62]) million deaths averted by activities between 2000 and 2019. For children under-5 born between 2000 and 2030, we estimate 52 (95%CrI[41, 69]) million more deaths would occur over their lifetimes without vaccination against these diseases.Conclusions:This study represents the largest assessment of vaccine impact before COVID-19-related disruptions and provides motivation for sustaining and improving global vaccination coverage in the future.Funding:VIMC is jointly funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) (BMGF grant number: OPP1157270 / INV-009125). Funding from Gavi is channelled via VIMC to the Consortium’s modelling groups (VIMC-funded institutions represented in this paper: Imperial College London, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Public Health England, Johns Hopkins University, The Pennsylvania State University, Center for Disease Analysis Foundation, Kaiser Permanente Washington, University of Cambridge, University of Notre Dame, Harvard University, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Emory University, National University of Singapore). Funding from BMGF was used for salaries of the Consortium secretariat (authors represented here: TBH, MJ, XL, SE-L, JT, KW, NMF, KAMG); and channelled via VIMC for travel and subsistence costs of all Consortium members (all authors). We also acknowledge funding from the UK Medical Research Council and Department for International Development, which supported aspects of VIMC's work (MRC grant number: MR/R015600/1).JHH acknowledges funding from National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship; Richard and Peggy Notebaert Premier Fellowship from the University of Notre Dame. BAL acknowledges funding from NIH/NIGMS (grant number R01 GM124280) and NIH/NIAID (grant number R01 AI112970). The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) receives funding support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.This paper was compiled by all coauthors, including two coauthors from Gavi. Other funders had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report. All authors had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.

show abstract

Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis B in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cited by 14 publications

References 13 publications

Seroprevalence of Viral Hepatitis B and C and Knowledge of the Hepatitis B Virus among Pregnant Women Attending Prenatal Care in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Seroprevalence of Viral Hepatitis B and C and Knowledge of the Hepatitis B Virus among Pregnant Women Attending Prenatal Care in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Arresting vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (AVERT-HBV) in pregnant women and their neonates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a feasibility study

Lives saved with vaccination for 10 pathogens across 112 countries in a pre-COVID-19 world

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About