Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Vikas Saxena

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Guest Editor

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Interests: immunology; virology; veterinary medicine; transplantation immunology; T cell; cancer biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this unprecedented year, a lot of attention is being given to viruses. While COVID-19 questions our preparedness against viral infections, the contributions of the scientific community in the identification of hepatitis C virus short-course curative treatment offer a glimmer of hope. To acknowledge this, this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. The prospects of overcoming the challenges of viral hepatitis thus seem more promising than ever before.

Liver inflammation, or hepatitis, is mainly caused by viral infections with hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses, though alcoholism, autoimmune diseases, and environmental toxins are also important causes. Presently, more than 325 million cases of infection have been identified globally, and each year, more than a million people die from the consequences of viral hepatitis. The Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis calls for elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. To achieve this target, a broad immunization program is required for the prevention and control of infection. There is a greater need to develop tools for the surveillance and monitoring of prevalence of these infections. It is important that definitve biomarkers be identified and proper testing and diagnostic methods be developed to help toward an improved reporting of disease incidence and mortality. Effective treatment regimens against viral hepatitis remain elusive. This Special Issue focuses on strategies to control viral hepatitis. We seek important works being done to understand pathogenesis and immunity against viral infection, prevention of viral transmission, safety of blood transfusion and drug injections, harm reduction for vulnerable people, identification of biomarkers, and testing and treatment.

Dr. Vikas Saxena
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Viral hepatitis
Hepatitis A virus
Hepatitis B virus
Hepatitis C virus
Hepatitis D virus
Hepatitis E virus
Liver diseases
Hepatitis treatment
Hepatitis vaccination
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Liver cirrhosis
Hepatitis patients
Hepatitis immunity
Hepatitis infection

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 262 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of HBV/HCV in Response to HAART in HIV Patients after 12 Months in Kumba Health District in the South West Region of Cameroon

by Adamu Ndongho Ndifontiayong, Innocent Mbulli Ali, Jean Baptiste Sokoudjou, Jerimiah Mbogwe Ndimumeh and Christopher Bonglavnyuy Tume

Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2021, 6(3), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6030150 - 10 Aug 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3178

Abstract

Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) are two among the numerous forms of infections whose clinical degeneration, morbidity–mortality and low immune responsiveness in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are highly evident. Co-infection of HIV with HBV and HCV has been associated with reduced survival, increased risk of progression to liver diseases and increased risk of hepatotoxicity associated with antiretroviral therapy (ARV). We carried out biochemical, immunological, virological and clinical analysis of hepatitis B and C positive HIV patients as well as some HIV positive individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy in Kumba Health District to evaluate the immune response to the ARV therapy and identified risk factors associated with the treatment outcomes. A total of 52 HIV patients, 36 HIV/HBV and 12 HIV/HCV patients were involved in this study. We performed CD4 counts, viral load test, analyzed ALAT/ASAT, albumin, bilirubin, and creatinine and measured the weights of HIV patients, HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV enrolled for not more than one year in Kumba Health District. The results were analyzed to evaluate the immune response and possible risk factors associated with the treatment outcomes. The mean increase in weight in participants of all groups over 12 months (17.12 kg) was greater than the mean increase in CD4 (8.92 cell/mm³). However, the mean decrease in viral loads over a 12 months was also very high (1035.17 copies/mL). There was a significant change in the mean values from baseline for all the three variables (p < 0.0001). HIV disease outcomes following HAART (high active antiretroviral therapy) do not appear to be adversely affected by HBV or HCV co-infection, except for slightly poorer CD4 count responses in HIV/HCV co-infected patients. Concerning the renal and liver functions, all the biomarkers witnessed a decrease in patients of all groups in response to HAART over time, with a more rapid decrease in mono-infected patients as compared with those co-infected with HBV but the case was contrary for those co-infected with HCV. Co-infection with HBV or HCV was relatively common among HIV infected participants in Kumba Health District. There were differences in response to HAART between the mono-infected compared with the co-infected, taking into consideration the weight, CD4 count, and viral load. In addition, there was also a variation in the different biomarkers of liver and renal function between mono-infected and co-infected patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Viral Hepatitis)

10 pages, 504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Screening, Vaccination Uptake and Linkage to Care for Hepatitis B Virus among Health Care Workers in Rural Sierra Leone

by Musa Bangura, Anna Frühauf, Michael Mhango, Daniel Lavallie, Vicky Reed, Marta Patiño Rodriguez, Samuel Juana Smith, Sulaiman Lakoh, Emmanuel Ibrahim-Sayo, Sorie Conteh, Marta Lado and Chiyembekezo Kachimanga

Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2021, 6(2), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6020065 - 29 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4402

Abstract

This study reports on the prevalence and risk factors of chronic HBV among health care workers (HCWs) in a rural secondary hospital in Sierra Leone. Additionally, data on the uptake of HBV vaccination among negatively tested HCWs and on the linkage to care among positively tested HCWs are presented. In December 2019, 781 HCWs were invited to a screening and vaccination campaign at Koidu Government Hospital in Kono District. For each HCW, demographic information and data on their HBV risk history were captured, followed by a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test. HCWs with a negative test result were offered an HBV vaccine on the same day, after one and six months. HCWs that were HBsAg positive were linked to a free HBV clinic. In total, 80% (632) of HCWs were screened. Among the screened, 97% had never received an HBV vaccine and 10.3% (n = 65) had chronic HBV. The following characteristics were associated with being HBsAg positive: aged less than 30 years old (aOR 2.17, CI 1.16–4.03, p = 0.01), male gender (aOR 2.0, CI 1.06–3.78, p = 0.03), working experience of 1–4 years (aOR 3.99, CI 1.15–13.73, p = 0.03) and over 9 years (aOR 6.16, CI 1.41–26.9, p = 0.02). For HBsAg-negative HCWs (n = 567), 99.8% (n = 566), 97.5% (n = 553) and 82.7% (n = 469) received their first, second and third dose of the vaccine, respectively. For HBsAg-positive HCWs (n = 65), 73.9% (n = 48) were successfully linked to an HBV clinic for further care. Most HCWs are unvaccinated for HBV, and the HBV prevalence amongst this at-risk group is high. Uptake of vaccination and linkage to care was successful. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Viral Hepatitis)

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