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Background: Occult hepatitis B (OBI) and C (OCI) infections lead to hepatic crises including cases of liver cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). OBI and OCI also pose a significant problem of their transmissibility. This study aimed to assess the overall prevalence of OBI and OCI in the African continent, a region highly endemic for classical hepatitis B and C viruses., Methods: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched: PubMed, Web of Science, African Journal Online and African Index Medicus for published studies on the prevalence of OBI and OCI in Africa. Study selection and data extraction were performed by at least two independent investigators. Heterogeneity (I²) was assessed using the χ² test on the Cochran Q statistic and H parameters. Sources of heterogeneity were explored by subgroup analyses. This study was registered in PROSPERO, with reference number CRD42021252772., Results: We obtained 157 prevalence data for this meta-analysis, from 134 studies for OBI prevalence; 23 studies on OCI prevalence, and a single study on the OBI case fatality rate. The overall estimate for the prevalence of OBI was 14.8% [95% CI = 12.2-17.7] among 18579 participants. The prevalence of seronegative OBI and seropositive OBI was 7.4% [95% CI = 3.8-11.8] and 20.0% [95% CI = 15.3-25.1] respectively. The overall estimate for the prevalence of OCI was 10.7% [95% CI = 6.6-15.4] among 2865 participants. The pooled prevalence of seronegative OCI was estimated at 10.7% [95%CI = 4.8-18.3] and that of seropositive OCI at 14.4% [95%CI = 5.2-22.1]. In Sub-group analysis, patients with malignancies, chronic hepatitis C, and hemodialysis had a higher OCI prevalence. While those with malignancies, liver disorders, and HIV positive registered highest OBI prevalence., Conclusion: This review shows a high prevalence of OBI and OCI in Africa, with variable prevalence between countries and population groups., Competing Interests: Competing interests None., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: epidemiological data suggests that more than 50% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail treatment. The objective of the study was to highlight the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus antigen (HCV Ag) at the 12 th week of treatment., Methods: during a cross-sectional study, participants with chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were recruited between December 2020 and March 2022 at the Yaoundé General Hospital (HGY) and the University Teaching Hospital of Yaounde (UTHY). Five millilitres of blood samples were taken from each consenting participant and then a qualitative search for HCV Ag by Enzyme-Linked Immuno Assay (ELISA) was performed. Analysis of the results was performed using SPSS Version 25.0 software., Results: out of the 192 participants selected for the study, only 92 (47,9%) participants were at 12 weeks of treatment, including 69 (75%) participants positive for the hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV Ab) by RDT. Of these participants, 44 (47.8%) participants were positive for HCV Ag by ELISA, respectively 19/37 (51.3%), 14/19 (73.6%), 11/13 (84.6%) with chronic hepatitis (HC), Cirrhosis, and HCC (P<0.0001)., Conclusion: our results showed a high prevalence of HCV Ag in patients at their 12 th week of treatment which predicts treatment failure and calls for public policy to develop new management strategies to prevent HCV treatment failure in our context., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright: Donatien Serge Mbaga et al.)

Background: Occult hepatitis C infection (OCI) is characterized by the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in the liver, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and/or ultracentrifuged serum in the absence of detectable HCV-RNA in serum. OCI has been described in several categories of populations including hemodialysis patients, patients with a sustained virological response, immunocompromised individuals, patients with abnormal hepatic function, and apparently healthy subjects., Aim: To highlight the global prevalence of OCI., Methods: We performed a systematic and comprehensive literature search in the following 4 electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, Global Index Medicus, and Web of Science up to 6th May 2021 to retrieve relevant studies published in the field. Included studies were unrestricted population categories with known RNA status in serum, PBMC, liver tissue and/or ultracentrifuged serum. Data were extracted independently by each author and the Hoy et al tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. We used the random-effect meta-analysis model to estimate the proportions of OCI and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). The Cochran's Q -test and the I 2 test statistics were used to assess heterogeneity between studies. Funnel plot and Egger test were used to examine publication bias. R software version 4.1.0 was used for all analyses., Results: The electronic search resulted in 3950 articles. We obtained 102 prevalence data from 85 included studies. The pooled prevalence of seronegative OCI was estimated to be 9.61% (95%CI: 6.84-12.73) with substantial heterogeneity [ I ² = 94.7% (95%CI: 93.8%-95.4%), P < 0.0001]. Seropositive OCI prevalence was estimated to be 13.39% (95%CI: 7.85-19.99) with substantial heterogeneity [ I 2 = 93.0% (90.8%-94.7%)]. Higher seronegative OCI prevalence was found in Southern Europe and Northern Africa, and in patients with abnormal liver function, hematological disorders, and kidney diseases. Higher seropositive OCI prevalence was found in Southern Europe, Northern America, and Northern Africa., Conclusion: In conclusion, in the present study, it appears that the burden of OCI is high and variable across the different regions and population categories. Further studies on OCI are needed to assess the transmissibility, clinical significance, long-term outcome, and need for treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors deny any conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

The non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) are a diverse group of malignancies that originate in lymphoid cells, heterogeneous in clinical behavior, morphology, cellular origin, etiology, and pathogenesis. A viral infectious etiology had been associated with them. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among patients with NHL at the Yaoundé General Hospital (YGH). Participants for this cross-sectional study were recruited at the medical oncology unit from October 2018 to December 2019. For each patient fulfilling the inclusion criteria, five milliliters of blood were drawn at the crook of their elbows in EDTA tubes. Then, EBV, HIV, HBV, and HVC screening were done using the Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs); Bio-Rad EBV, Alere Determine HIV-1/HIV-2, HBV the best diagnostic and HVC Wondfo biotech respectively. Participants were made up of sixty-three males (69.23%) and twenty-eight females (30.77%). Their ages ranged from nineteen to seventy-eight years, with a mean ± SD of 56.5 ± 15.5. There were eight HIV patients (8.8%) followed by five EBV or HBV patients (5.5%). Three patients were coinfected with HIV+EBV (3.3%) while only two patients (2.2%) had HCV. Only HIV and EBV were seen coinfected. The presence of HBV and HCV in patients with NHL reveals the need to understand how these viruses induce lymphoproliferative diseases, more precisely, the non-Hodgkin´s lymphoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright: Jacky Njiki Bikoï et al.)