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Frequent occurrence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection among West African HIV type-1-infected children.

Rouet F, Chaix ML, Inwoley A, Anaky MF, Fassinou P, Kpozehouen A, Rouzioux C, Blanche S, Msellati P,

Centre de Diagnostic et de Recherches sur le SIDA, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Treichville, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. franrouet@yahoo.fr

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study, conducted in Ivory Coast, was to evaluate the prevalence and evolution of viral hepatitis in children coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). METHODS: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) markers were retrospectively and longitudinally assessed among 280 HIV-1-infected children enrolled in the Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA et les Hépatites Virales B et C 1244/1278 cohort. Among these, 173 (61.8%) received highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), including lamivudine (3TC) for 122 children. Detection of the hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) was performed on specimens collected at inclusion and 6 months later. If results of both tests were positive, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)/hepatitis B e antibody (HBeAb) and HBV DNA levels were measured at inclusion and during follow-up. A fourth-generation HCV enzyme immunoassay was used for HCV screening at inclusion. RESULTS: In our pediatric cohort, no patients were infected with HCV, but the prevalence of HBsAg at inclusion was 12.1% (34 of 280; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.6-16.6). Among the HBV-HIV-1-coinfected children, a high rate of positive HBeAg chronic hepatitis B (CHB) was noted at inclusion (82.4% [ 28 of 34]; 95% CI, 65.5%-93.2%) and after a median follow-up of 18 months (78.3%; 95% CI, 45.5%-92.7%), with no significant difference between children treated with HAART (with or without 3TC) and untreated ones. These children showed high HBV DNA levels (usually >8.0 log(10) copies/mL) and viral population consisting of nearly exclusively wild-type HBeAg-positive HBV strains, strongly suggesting that most of them were in the initial immunotolerant phase of chronic hepatitis B. CONCLUSION: In sub-Saharan Africa, children with chronic hepatitis B and who are treated with 3TC-based HAART are at risk of developing 3TC resistance. Further studies are required to guide the management of HBV-HIV-1-coinfected children.

Published 9 January 2008 in Clin Infect Dis, 46(3): 361-6.
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