Safety of complete and sustained prophylaxis withdrawal in patients liver-transplanted for HBV-related cirrhosis at low risk of HBV recurrence.

Background & Aims: HBV reactivation after liver transplantation may be related to persistence of covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA. We investigated the safety of HBV prophylaxis withdrawal in selected HBV transplanted patients.

Methods: Thirty patients transplanted 64-195months earlier (23 males, median age 56yrs), HBsAg-positive, HBeAg, and HBV-DNA negative at transplant (43% HCV/HDV co-infected), with undetectable intrahepatic total and ccc-DNA were enrolled.

Phylogenetic analysis of the surface proteins of influenza A (H5N1) viruses isolated in Asian and African populations.

Highly pathogenic H5N1 virus can infect a variety of animals and continually poses a threat to animal and human health. Here, phylogenetic analysis of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes indicated that the hemagglutinin gene of all human isolates, although very similar to each other, fell within different clades corresponding to antigenically distinguishable variants. Likewise, the N1 neuraminidase gene forms a clade that is evolutionarily distinct from previously characterized N1 neuraminidases.

Total and covalently closed circular DNA detection in liver tissue of long-term survivors transplanted for HBV-related cirrhosis.

Background: Life-long prophylaxis against HBV recurrence is recommended in patients transplanted for HBV-related disease. The risk of HBV reactivation is due to persistence of covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA in hepatocytes. Whether cccDNA persists in livers of long-term transplant survivors who received conventional prophylaxis is unknown.