Seroprevalence and Molecular Biodiversity of Hepatitis B and Delta Virus Infections in the Republic of Congo

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem in the world. In Congo, studies on the prevalence of HBV infection are common but HDV infection is rare. Objective: Contribute to improve the management and prevention of HBV and HDV infections. Patients and Methods: This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted from January to August 2016 in the health services of the various departments of Congo and at the national public health laboratory in Brazzaville. All patients with HBsAg surface antigen who were at least 18 years old and who consented to the study were included. The HBs antigen was first tested by a rapid test then confirmed by ELISA. All HBsAg positive patients were subsequently subjected to a second ELISA test for Delta antibody. The techniques of extraction and conventional and specific gene amplification were carried out on plasma for the identification of the genotypes of the two viruses. The data analysis was done with EpiInfo V7 software. The proportions were compared using the Chi-square test or the Fisher test at the significance level of 5%. Results: 1618 subjects were included, of whom 180 were positive for HBsAg, a frequency of 11.12%. The sex ratio (M/F) was 0.77%, the mean age was 40.2 ± 15.6 years with extremes ranging from 18 to 88 years. Of the 180 HBsAg positive, 22 were anti-VHD positive, a frequency of 12.22%. HBV DNA was amplified in 83.8% (151/180), HDV RNA in 63.6% (14/22). For HBV, three genotypes were identified: E (46.9%), A (43.7%) and D (9.4%), however for VHD three genotypes D1, D5, D8 were identified. Conclusion: Co-infection of hepatitis

Epidemiological and Diagnostic Profile of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus from 2017 to 2021 in Parakou, Republic of Benin

“…Katilé et al [11] in 2018 in the department of medicine of Kayes hospital in Mali found a prevalence of 11.1%. Mongo-Okouo et al [14] in Brazzaville in 2016 reported a frequency of 11.12%…”

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Hepatitis Delta Virus Transmission among HBsAg Positive Blood Donors in Brazzaville, Congo

“…(2018) [12] which indicate that Congo is a country with high endemicity. This prevalence is lower than the rates reported by several authors in Mauritania and Romania, which are respectively 20.1% and 23.1% [13] [14].…”

“…Nucleic acids were extracted from 200 μl of plasma with the system invitrogen superscript III RT platinum kit (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Amplification was performed using the primer pairs D2(5'-ACAAGGAGAGGCAGGATCACCGAC3')/D3(5'GAGATGCCATGCCG ACCCGAAGAG-3') and D1(5'-GCCCAGGTCGGACCGCGAGGAGGT-3')/D4(5'GAAGGAAGGCCCT CGAGAACAAGA-3') used by Mongo-Onkouo et al [12] in a TECHNE TC-312 thermal cycler. The amplified PCR products were subjected to electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel.…”

“…In Africa, a quarter of the estimated 65 million chronic HBV carriers are suspected of being HDV carriers [11]. In the Republic of Congo, the prevalence of HDV is 12.2% in the general population [12]. Despite this prevalence, no study on the prevalence of HDV has been conducted among blood donors in Brazzaville.…”