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Long term outcomes of highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV infected Nigerians and those co-infected with hepatitis B and C viruses

*1Okwuraiwe, A. P., 1Audu, R. A., 1Ige, F. A., 1Salu, O. B., 1Onwuamah, C. K., & 2Musa, A. Z.

1Centre for Human Virology and Genomics, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria 2Clinical Sciences Division, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria *Correspondence to: azukaokwu@yahoo.com; apokwuraiwe@nimr.gov.ng; +2347039303050

Abstract:
Background: HIV co-infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV) is common, largely due to shared routes of transmission, but paucity of data exists for long term treatment outcomes of HIV infected patients, and those co-infected with HBV and HCV despite the high burden in Nigeria. The aim of study was to describe the long-term treatment outcomes in HIV infected Nigerians and to assess the effect of HBV and HCV co-infections on long-term response to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Continue reading “Long term outcomes of highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV infected Nigerians and those co-infected with hepatitis B and C viruses”

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Assessment of the performance of six in vitro diagnostic kits for qualitative detection of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in human serum or plasma in Lomé, Togo

*1,2Salou, M., 1Ehlan, A., 2Dossim, S., 1Ali-Edje, K., 1Ouro-Medeli, A., 1Douffan, M., and 1,3Dagnra, A.

1National Reference Center for HIV and STIs (CNR HIV/STI)

2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo

3Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo *Correspondence to: mounerous@gmail.com, msalou@univ-lome.tg

Abstract:
Background: Several in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test kits for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) are commercially available. The question is whether they are performing well for both screening and diagnosis or not? Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the performance of six commercially available HBsAg detection kits in Togo.

Methods: This study was conducted at the National Reference Center for HIV/STI testing in Lomé (CNR-VIH/IST), Togo. Reference sera used for the assessment were collected from blood donors and patients with history of hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection between 2008 and 2014, and includes 200 non-reactive HBsAg and 150 reactive HBsAg sera that were confirmed with a reference method which consisted of the combination of an ELISA, a RDT, and a molecular test. Four ELISA kits (EKOlab ELISA-HBsAg; HEPALISA ULTRA; HEPALISA; Murex AgHBs Version 3) and two RDTs kits (ACON AgHBs and OnSite HBsAg Rapid Test-Cassette) were then evaluated using these serum samples. The EPI-INFO software version 7.2 was used to determine the 95% confidence interval and performed statistical analysis.

Results: Reference serum samples were collected from the population with 65.0% under 40 years of age and 61.2% males. The sensitivity of the 4 ELISA tests compared to the reference method was 100%. Apart from the HEPALISA test with a specificity of 100.0%, the specificity of the other three ELISA tests (Murex HBsAg version 3, HEPALISA ULTRA and EKOlab ELISA-HBsAg) were 98.4%, 97.3% and 91.8% respectively. For the RDTs, the sensitivity of ACON HBsAg and OnSite HBsAg Rapid Test-Cassette was 70.0% and 95.6% respectively while the specificity was 100.0% for both.

Conclusion: The ELISA tests evaluated were more sensitive than the RDTs, and HEPALISA test was the most efficient. Of the two RDTs, the OnSite HBsAg Rapid Test-Cassette was more sensitive. Our findings highlight the need for onsite verification of in vitro diagnostic kits for qualitative detection of hepatitis B surface antigen before their routine use in Togo.

Keywords: HBV, HBsAg, Performance, IVD test

Received Aug 16, 2019; Revised March 27, 2020; Accepted March 28, 2020

Copyright 2020 AJCEM Open Access. This article is licensed and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attrition 4.0 International License <a rel=”license” href=”//creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/”, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided credit is given to the original author(s) and the source.

Évaluation des performances de six kits de diagnostic in vitro pour la détection qualitative de l’antigène de surface du virus de l’hépatite B (HBsAg) dans le sérum ou le plasma humain à Lomé, Togo

*1,2Salou, M., 1Ehlan, A., 2Dossim, S., 1Ali-Edje, K., 1Ouro-Medeli, A., 1Douffan, M., et 1,3Dagnra, A. Continue reading “Assessment of the performance of six in vitro diagnostic kits for qualitative detection of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in human serum or plasma in Lomé, Togo”

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Hepatitis B immunization at the University College Hospital, Ibadan: an eight year review of vaccine administration records

SO Ola, A Akere, JA Otegbayo, F Omokhodion, AA Olofin, EA Bamgboye

 

Abstract

Vaccination of health care workers (HCWs) against hepatitis (HBV) infection is highly necessary in Nigeria where the infection occurs in hperendemic proportions. We hereby determine the trends in the administration of HBV vaccine at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria. The study reviewed the records for the administration of vaccine against HBV at the Staff Medical Services Department of UCH, Ibadan, Nigeria, from 1994 to 2001. A total of 1,437 subjects consisting of 686 (47.7%) males and 751 (52.3 %) females were vaccinated against HBV from 1994 to 2001. They were aged 16 to 64 years and consisted of 356 students (24.8%) and 1081 healthcare workers (HCWs) (75.2%) which comprised Doctors (30.9%), Dentists (1.9%), Paramedics (19.6%), Non-medics (14.6%) and subjects with undisclosed occupational category ((10.7%). About 11% to 100% of the subjects had annual prescreening for HBsAg sero-negativity from 1996 to 2001 but none had post vaccination assay of anti-HBs titre. All the subjects received 1st dose of 0, 1, 2 accelerated HBV vaccination schedule while on annual basis, 16.7% to 91.8% of the subjects received the 3rd dose of the vaccine. Despite the proportional participation of the different occupational groups was highest among the doctors and dentists but lowest among the paramedics, only 59.7% of all the vaccinees had three dose(s) of the vaccine during the 8 year period. In conclusion, although the HBV vaccination programme had shortcomings, it is an established practice at UCH, Ibadan and efforts should be made to improve on its prevailing standard.

Keywords: Immunization, HBV, Healthcare Workers, Nigerians, UCH, Ibadan.

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Hepatitis B immunization at the University College Hospital Ibadan an eight year review of vaccine administration records