Clinical and molecular characterization of chronic hepatitis B in Albania: A country that is still highly endemic for HBV infection
✍ Scribed by L.A. Kondili; M.R. Brunetto; A.M. Maina; C. Argentini; P. Chionne; V. La Sorsa; B. Resuli; A. Mele; Maria Rapicetta
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2004
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 87 KB
- Volume
- 75
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0146-6615
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Albania is a Mediterranean country, still with a high endemicity level of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The chronic hepatitis B profile was characterized in this geographical area and used as a model to investigate the impact of endemicity level on the prevalence of the two major forms of chronic hepatitis B (HBeAg‐positive and HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B). A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 62 chronic hepatitis B patients consecutively admitted to the most important tertiary health care center for the diagnosis and treatment of liver disease in Albania. HBV‐DNA was measured with an in‐house PCR with a sensitivity of 10^4^ copies/ml which uses primers encompassing the pre‐core/core region. PCR products were subjected to sequencing and oligohybridization assay. Of the 62 patients, 75.8% had HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B. Genotype D was found in all 39 patients with detectable HBV viremia, for whom the heterogeneity of the region modulating HBeAg expression was assessed. Basic core promoter (BCP) mutations (1762/1764) were observed more often in anti‐HBe‐positive and older patients. In more than 90% of the HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B patients with detectable viremia, HBV that carries the G to A pre‐core mutation at nucleotide 1896 was found. Patients with HBeAg‐positive chronic hepatitis B were younger than HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B patients, and for symptomatic and asymptomatic liver‐disease patients, the age of peak prevalence was at least 10 years lower for HBeAg‐positive chronic hepatitis B patients. In conclusion, the virological and clinical pattern of chronic hepatitis B in Albania is similar to that observed in other Mediterranean countries; it seems to be independent of the HBV endemicity level. J. Med. Virol. 75:20–26, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.