The Pattern of Childhood Hepatitis B Infection in Two Gambian Villages

Abstract

Serologic markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection were measured in children from Manduar and Keneba, two adjacent villages in The Gambia, in 1980 and in 1984. The rate of HBV infection over the 4 years differed markedly: in Manduar 71% of children who were less than 5 years of age in 1980 became infected, whereas in Keneba only 37% became infected. Male children were more frequent carriers of either HBs or e antigen than were female children. Marked clustering of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) antigenemia within sibling relationships was shown in both villages. The chance of the youngest child in a household being a carrier of HBsAg was strongly related to the number of antigen-positive siblings. Four years later, 53% of children who were initially positive for HBsAg and 33% who were positive for hepatitis B e antigen still carried these antigens. Jaundice was not observed.

Epidemiological patterns of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in highly endemic areasr

“…Developed includes 1 survey from UK [81] and Italy [82]. [43] for details (solid line, Zambia [27]; dotted line, Nairobi [28]; dashed line, The Gambia [26]; +, Khalawaat, Sudan [29]; A, Saleim, Sudan [29]; x , Senegal [30]; and O, South Africa [31]). (b) Maximum-likelihood estimates from 6 surveys in east Asia (solid line, Taiwan [32]; dotted line, Kinalaglagan, Philippines [33]; dashed line, Tagumpay, Philippines [33]; +, Santa Rosa, Philippines [33]; A, Agoho, Philippines [33]; and x, Shanghai [34]).…”

“…Anti-HBc is passed across the placenta and is present in breast-milk, but it is not a protective antibody. The [26], Zambia [27], Nairobi [28], Senegal [30], South Africa [31], Taiwan [32], four surveys from the Philippines [33] and one from Shanghai [34]. In addition to the surveys from sub-Saharan Africa and east Asia, three more studies from other highly endemic populations were included, from French Polynesia [35], Solomon Islands [36] and Venezuela [37].…”

249ser TP53 mutation in plasma DNA, hepatitis B viral infection, and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…In The Gambia, West Africa, HCC is the most common cancer in men and second in women (Bah et al, 2001), with a median age of 45 years at presentation. HBV transmission occurs horizontally among young children and 15-20% of adults become HBV chronic carriers (Vall Mayans et al, 1990;Whittle et al, 1990). The prevalence of HCV infection is low (Mendy et al, 1998) while aflatoxin exposure is ubiquitous Wild and Hudson et al, 1992).…”

Lack of new HBV infections over 2 years of follow-up in HIV-positive women receiving ART up to 6 or 24 months after delivery

“…Although it is traditionally thought that HBV infection is acquired during childhood in Africa [1,2] evidence shows that there is an ongoing sexual transmission of this disease among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected adults [3,4]. In a study conducted in Uganda, prevalent HBV infection was found to increase with age and was associated to sexually transmitted infections [5].…”