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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in a Cohort of HIV-Positive Patients Resident in Sicily, Italy

Fabio TramutoPaola Di CarloCarmelo Massimo MaidaVitale FrancescoGiuseppina Maria Elena Colomba

subject

AdultMaleOccult HBV HIV Prevalence Sicily Italymedicine.medical_specialtyHepatitis B virusArticle Subjectlcsh:MedicineHIV Infectionsmedicine.disease_causeSettore MED/42 - Igiene Generale E ApplicataGeneral Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular BiologySerologyInternal medicineGenotypemedicinePrevalenceHumansClinical significanceSicilyDemographyHepatitis B virusHepatitis B Surface AntigensGeneral Immunology and Microbiologybusiness.industrylcsh:Rvirus diseasesGeneral MedicineOdds ratioHepatitis Bmedicine.diseaseHepatitis BOccultdigestive system diseasesCohortImmunologyClinical StudyFemalebusiness

description

Occult hepatitis B virus (OBI) in HIV-infected groups is still debated, as well as the associated risk-factors and clinical significance. In this paper, we examined a total of 405 HBsAg-negative/HIV-infected patients enrolled from January 2007 to December 2009. Overall, the prevalence of OBI was 5.9% (95% confidence interval (CI95%): 3.8–8.7%); it was more frequently associated with “anti-HBc alone” serological marker (11.3%; adjusted odds ratio = 3.7, CI95%: 1.4–9.8), although it was also detected in the absence of any HBV serological marker (4.9%; CI95%: 2.3–9.1%). A low prevalence of anti-HCV-positive patients with OBI was found (3.1%; CI95%: 0.6–8.7%). HIV RNA plasma levels or other immunological/clinical characteristics were not significantly associated with OBI. All but one occult HBV infections were sustained by genotype D viral strains. OBI is relatively frequent in HIV-infected patients, although it does not seem to exert a relevant clinical impact. Viral genotypes in occult HBV infections reflect those circulating in the Mediterranean area.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2013-04-30
10.1155/2013/859583http://hdl.handle.net/10447/93943