Long-term follow-up of a vaccination program for infants born to HBsAg-positive mothers in Stockholm County, Sweden.

We investigated the long-term antibody response to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination in babies born to chronically infected mothers. They received one dose of monovalent HBV vaccination at birth and one month of age, followed by 3 doses of hexavalent vaccine including an HBV component at ages 3, 5, and 12 months, respectively, with a very high percentage of protective anti-HBs levels at 13 months. At the age of 8-12 years, 56 out of 68 children (82%) had protective levels of anti-HBs, two had signs of anti-HBc seroconversion without any history of clinical disease and none had ongoing infection.

Low levels of microbial translocation marker LBP are associated with sustained viral response after anti-HCV treatment in HIV-1/HCV co-infected patients.

Background: Microbial translocation (MT) contributes to immune activation during HIV and HCV infections. We investigated the kinetics of MT markers during anti-HCV and anti-HIV treatments, and if baseline plasma levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) and soluble CD14 (sCD14) could predict anti-HCV treatment outcome.

Methods: Plasma from 78 HIV-infected patients was evaluated for LPS, LBP and sCD14.

High HCV treatment uptake in the Swedish HIV/HCV co-infected cohort.

Background: HCV co-infection is a leading cause of death in HIV-positive patients. Despite a strong indication for the treatment of HCV, treatment uptake is generally lower than in HCV mono-infected patients. The aim of this study was to determine the HCV treatment uptake and to define factors associated with initiation or deferral of HCV treatment in Swedish HIV/HCV co-infected patients.

Occasional spontaneous clearance of chronic hepatitis C virus in HIV-infected individuals.

The IL28B genotype has been found to have a strong influence on spontaneous clearance of acute HCV both in HCV mono- and HIV/ the HCV co-infected patients. Spontaneous clearance of chronic HCV without HCV treatment is rare. Here, we report on three chronic HCV cases co-infected with HIV with spontaneous clearance of their HCV infection, all with the IL28B CC genotype.

HCV RNA decline in chronic HCV genotype 2 and 3 during standard of care treatment according to IL28B polymorphism.

The IL28 gene is highly associated with sustained viral response (SVR) in patients infected with genotype 1 after standard of care (SOC) treatment with peg-IFN and ribavirin. It is also associated with a steeper first phase HCV RNA decline during treatment. In genotype 2 and 3 infections, these correlations are less obvious.

Hepatitis B seroprevalence in persons attending youth clinics in Stockholm, Sweden in 2008.

Sweden is a low endemicity country for hepatitis B virus (HBV). The previously reported prevalence of chronic HBV is <1% and of overall markers <5%. HBV is not included in the universal childhood vaccination programme.