TY - JOUR
T1 - Screening for retroviruses and hepatitis viruses using dried blood spots reveals a high prevalence of occult hepatitis B in Ghana
AU - de Mendoza, Carmen
AU - Bautista, José M.
AU - Pérez-Benavente, Susana
AU - Kwawu, Roger
AU - Fobil, Julius
AU - Soriano, Vicente
AU - Díez, Amalia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2019.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Background: Recent advances in antiviral therapy show potential for a cure and/or control of most human infections caused by hepatitis viruses and retroviruses. However, medical success is largely dependent on the identification of the large number of people unaware of these infections, especially in developing countries. Dried blood spots (DBS) have been demonstrated to be a good tool for collecting, storing and transporting clinical specimens from rural areas and limited-resource settings to laboratory facilities, where viral infections can be more reliably diagnosed. Methods: The seroprevalence and virological characterization of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), as well as human retroviruses (HIV-1, HIV-2, human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 [HTLV-1] and human T-cell leukaemia virus type 2 [HTLV-2]), were investigated in clinical specimens collected from DBS in Ghana. Results: A total of 305 consecutive DBS were collected. A high prevalence of chronic HBV (8.5%) and occult hepatitis B (14.2%) was found, whereas rates were lower for HIV-1, HTLV-1 and HCV (3.2%, 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively). HIV-2 and HTLV-2 were absent. CRF02_AG was the predominant HIV-1 subtype, whereas genotype E was the most frequent HBV variant. Conclusions: DBS are helpful in the diagnosis and virological characterization of hepatitis and retrovirus infections in resource-limited settings. The high rate of hepatitis B in Ghana, either overt or occult, is noteworthy and confirms recent findings from other sub-Saharan countries. This should encourage close clinical follow up and antiviral treatment assessment in this population, as well as universal HBV vaccine campaigns.
AB - Background: Recent advances in antiviral therapy show potential for a cure and/or control of most human infections caused by hepatitis viruses and retroviruses. However, medical success is largely dependent on the identification of the large number of people unaware of these infections, especially in developing countries. Dried blood spots (DBS) have been demonstrated to be a good tool for collecting, storing and transporting clinical specimens from rural areas and limited-resource settings to laboratory facilities, where viral infections can be more reliably diagnosed. Methods: The seroprevalence and virological characterization of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), as well as human retroviruses (HIV-1, HIV-2, human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 [HTLV-1] and human T-cell leukaemia virus type 2 [HTLV-2]), were investigated in clinical specimens collected from DBS in Ghana. Results: A total of 305 consecutive DBS were collected. A high prevalence of chronic HBV (8.5%) and occult hepatitis B (14.2%) was found, whereas rates were lower for HIV-1, HTLV-1 and HCV (3.2%, 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively). HIV-2 and HTLV-2 were absent. CRF02_AG was the predominant HIV-1 subtype, whereas genotype E was the most frequent HBV variant. Conclusions: DBS are helpful in the diagnosis and virological characterization of hepatitis and retrovirus infections in resource-limited settings. The high rate of hepatitis B in Ghana, either overt or occult, is noteworthy and confirms recent findings from other sub-Saharan countries. This should encourage close clinical follow up and antiviral treatment assessment in this population, as well as universal HBV vaccine campaigns.
KW - dried blood spots
KW - Ghana
KW - hepatitis B virus
KW - hepatitis C virus
KW - HIV-1
KW - human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1
KW - occult hepatitis B
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85083709363&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/2049936119851464
DO - 10.1177/2049936119851464
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85083709363
SN - 2049-9361
VL - 6
SP - 1
EP - 8
JO - Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease
JF - Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease
ER -