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Acute risk for hepatitis E virus infection among HIV-1-positive pregnant women in central Africa.
- Source :
-
Virology Journal . 2012, Vol. 9 Issue 1, p254-257. 4p. 1 Chart, 1 Graph. - Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV), an enterically transmitted pathogen, is highly endemic in several African countries. Pregnant women are at particularly high risk for acute or severe hepatitis E. In Gabon, a central African country, the prevalence of antibodies to HEV among pregnant women is 14.1%. Recent studies have demonstrated unusual patterns of hepatitis E (chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis) among immunodeficient patients. Findings: We investigated the prevalence of antibodies to HEV among pregnant women infected with HIV-1 or HTLV-1 in Gabon. Of 243 samples collected, 183 were positive for HIV-1 and 60 for HTLV-1; 16 women (6.6%) had IgG antibodies to HEV. The seroprevalence was higher among HIV-1-infected women (7.1%) than HTLV-1-infected women (5.0%). Moreover, the HIV-1 viral load was significantly increased (p ≤ 0.02) among women with past-HEV exposure (1.3E+05 vs 5.7E+04 copies per ml), whereas no difference was found in HTLV-1 proviral load (9.0E+01 vs 1.1E+03 copies per ml). Conclusions: These data provide evidence that HIV-1-infected women are at risk for acute or severe infection if they are exposed to HEV during pregnancy, with an increased viral load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1743422X
- Volume :
- 9
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Virology Journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 84377383
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-422X-9-254