Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.
Viro-Bio Research Group, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.
Afr Health Sci. 2022 Mar;22(1):511-520. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v22i1.60.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection continues to be a significant public health challenge globally, with higher disease burden in developing countries. HBV genotypes are associated with different geographical regions and clinical outcomes. Limited information exists on epidemiology of HBV in the Niger-Delta region (South-South) of Nigeria. Consequently, this study was designed to characterise hepatitis B virus infection among outpatients in selected tertiary hospitals in the region.
Between June and August 2017, consenting nine hundred asymptomatic out-patients were enrolled and initially screened for HBV infection using one step Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) strip and subsequently re-tested using HBsAg and Hepatitis B core total antibody (anti-HBc) specific Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Blood serum with detectable HBsAg were subsequently subjected to DNA extraction, S-gene amplification using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol, gel electrophoresis, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.
Seroprevalence of HBsAg was 4.6% (95% CI 2.5-7.1) and anti-HBc was 10.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 6.1-15.3). Of the 41 HBsAg positive samples subjected to DNA extraction and HBV S-gene specific PCR, only 6 (14.6%) yielded the expected ∼408bp band. Phylogenetic analysis based on HBV pre-S/S sequences identified all six typable samples as genotype E, subtype ayw4 of the West African clade.
Results of the study confirm the presence and circulation of HBV genotype-E in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria, thus corroborating the inclusion of the country in the Genotype E crescent. The authors advocate value-added HBV intervention in the region and the country at large.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染仍然是全球重大的公共卫生挑战，发展中国家的疾病负担更高。HBV 基因型与不同的地理区域和临床结果相关。关于尼日利亚尼日尔三角洲地区（南南地区）HBV 的流行病学信息有限。因此，本研究旨在描述该地区选定的三级医院门诊患者的乙型肝炎病毒感染情况。
2017 年 6 月至 8 月期间，900 名无症状门诊患者同意参加研究，最初使用一步法乙型肝炎表面抗原（HBsAg）检测试剂盒筛查 HBV 感染，随后使用 HBsAg 和乙型肝炎核心总抗体（抗-HBc）特异性酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）重新检测。可检测到 HBsAg 的血清随后进行 DNA 提取、使用巢式聚合酶链反应（PCR）方案进行 S 基因扩增、凝胶电泳、测序和系统发育分析。
HBsAg 的血清流行率为 4.6%（95%可信区间 2.5-7.1），抗-HBc 为 10.1%（95%置信区间 6.1-15.3）。在 41 份 HBsAg 阳性样本中进行 DNA 提取和 HBV S 基因特异性 PCR 后，只有 6 份（14.6%）得到了预期的约 408bp 条带。基于 HBV 前-S/S 序列的系统发育分析鉴定了所有 6 个可分型样本均为西非分支的基因型 E、ayw4 亚型。
研究结果证实了尼日利亚尼日尔三角洲地区 HBV 基因型 E 的存在和传播，从而证实了该国被纳入基因型 E 弧形区。作者主张在该地区和整个国家开展增值乙型肝炎病毒干预。
