1. The Prevalence and Molecular Epidemiology of Hepatitis Delta Virus in Nigeria: The Results of a Nationwide Study.
- Author
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Ifeorah IM, Gerber A, Dziri S, Bakarey SA, Le Gal F, Aglavdawa G, Alloui C, Kalu SO, Ghapouen PB, Brichler S, Adewumi OM, and Gordien E
- Subjects
- Nigeria epidemiology, Humans, Prevalence, Female, Male, Adult, Middle Aged, Young Adult, Hepatitis B Surface Antigens genetics, Hepatitis B Surface Antigens blood, RNA, Viral genetics, Adolescent, Hepatitis Antibodies blood, Aged, Viral Load, Hepatitis B epidemiology, Hepatitis B virology, Child, Hepatitis Delta Virus genetics, Hepatitis Delta Virus classification, Hepatitis Delta Virus isolation & purification, Hepatitis D epidemiology, Hepatitis D virology, Genotype, Phylogeny, Molecular Epidemiology
- Abstract
Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a satellite of hepatitis B virus (HBV), which requires the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) for its assembly and propagation. Although countries affected by HBV infection in Africa are well identified, data on HDV infection are still scarce, like in Nigeria, where HBV infection is endemic. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of HDV infection and identify the circulating genotypes/strains in the country. A nationwide study was performed on 1281 HBsAg-positive samples collected from patients across eleven sites drawn from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Anti-HDV antibody (HDV-Ab) screening and HDV-RNA viral load quantification were performed using a commercial ELISA assay and real-time RT-PCR kit, respectively. HDV genotyping was performed by the Sanger sequencing of amplicons from the so-called R0 region of the viral genome, followed by phylogenetic analyses. Of the 1281 HBsAg-positive samples, 61 (4.8%) were HDV-Ab positive, among which, 12 (19.7%) were HDV-RNA positive. Genotypes were obtained for nine of them: seven "African" HDV-1, one "Asian/European" HDV-1 and one HDV-6. This study shows that Nigeria is a country of low HDV prevalence where mainly "African" genotype-1 strains are circulating.
- Published
- 2024
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