We report the results of a study carried out to evaluate the extent of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) circulation in Somalia. Serum samples were collected from 593 subjects (age range 0-83 years) and tested for anti-hepatitis A (HAV) and anti-HAV IgM. Serum samples taken from 1272 individuals (age range 0-83 years) were tested for HBsAg, anti-HBsAg, anti-HBcAg, HBeAg and anti-HBeAg. We confirmed a very high rate of HAV exposure (about 90% of the subjects tested had circulating anti-HAV) as is typical of fecal-orally transmitted infectious agents. The age-specific anti-HAV IgM prevalence suggests that HAV infection is acquired very early in life. Our data also indicate a high rate of HBsAg carriers (range: 10.5%-27.4%) in the Somalian population. When all markers are considered, 60% of the adult population showed evidence of HBV exposure. HBV spreads very subtly: in fact, it is generally transmitted via non-overtly percutaneous routes. In Somalia, hepatitis A virus infection is highly endemic and occurs very early in life. Hepatitis B virus infection is also widespread in this country.
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PLoS One
January 2025
Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen that affects around 200 million individuals worldwide. Immunizations against the Hepatitis C Virus are intended to enhance T-cell responses and have been identified as a crucial component of successful antiviral therapy. Nevertheless, attempts to mediate clinically relevant anti-HCV activity in people have mainly failed, despite the vaccines present satisfactory progress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZoonoses Public Health
January 2025
Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Zoonotic Diseases in Wildlife and Exotic Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
Introduction: Nonhuman primates (NHPs) can transmit zoonotic diseases to humans because of their close genetic relationship, facilitating the cross-species transmission of certain pathogens. In Thailand, Macaca is the most common NHP genus and their inhabits area are in close proximity of human, particularly in urban and suburban areas, where frequent interactions with humans increase the risk of pathogen transmission. The risk is influenced by factors such as the type of pathogen, the mode of transmission (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiver Int
February 2025
Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology, and Infectious Diseases, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Background And Aim: Bulevirtide (BLV) leads to beneficial virologic and biochemical responses when given alone to treat hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection, which causes the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis. We evaluated 48 weeks of BLV monotherapy, BLV + tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and BLV + pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Peg-IFNα-2a), with 24-week follow-up.
Methods: Ninety patients were enrolled into six arms of 15 each (A-F); 60 patients were included in the main randomisation (arms A-D), and 30 patients (arms E-F) were randomised to the extension phase: (A) Peg-IFNα-2a 180 μg once weekly (QW); (B) BLV 2 mg once daily (QD) + Peg-IFNα-2a 180 μg QW; (C) BLV 5 mg QD + Peg-IFNα-2a 180 μg QW; (D) BLV 2 mg QD; (E) BLV 10 mg QD + Peg-IFNα-2a 180 μg QW and (F) BLV 10 mg (5 mg twice daily) + TDF QD.
J Virol
January 2025
Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section Virus-Host Interactions, Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO) is critically involved in the induction of interferons (IFNs) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) 3C protease was recently identified to cleave NEMO in non-hepatic cells. This study aimed at understanding efficiency and function of HAV 3C-mediated NEMO cleavage in hepatocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Sci
December 2024
Department of Avian Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine and Center for Avian Disease, Jeonbuk National University, Iksan 54596, Republic of Korea.
Duck hepatitis A virus type 3 (DHAV-3) is a viral pathogen that causes acute, high-mortality hepatitis in ducklings, and vaccination with attenuated live vaccines is currently the main preventive measure against it. However, differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) is crucial for clinical diagnosis and effective disease control. This study aimed to develop a rapid mismatch amplification mutation assay PCR (MAMA-PCR) diagnostic method to simultaneously detect and differentiate between wild-type and vaccine strains.
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