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Abstract Background In countries with intermediate or high hepatitis B virus (HBV) endemicity, mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) represents the main route of chronic HBV infection. There is a paucity of information on HBV MTCT in Cambodia. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women and its MTCT rate in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Methods This longitudinal study included two parts, study-1 to screen HBsAg among pregnant women and study-2 to follow up babies of all HBsAg-positive and one-fourth of HBsAg-negative mothers at their delivery and six-month post-partum. Serum or dried blood spot (DBS) samples were collected to examine HBV sero-markers by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA), and molecular analyses were performed on HBsAg-positive samples. Structured questionnaires and medical records were used to examine the risk factors for HBV infection. MTCT rate was calculated by HBsAg positivity of 6-month-old babies born to HBsAg-positive mothers and ascertained by the homology of HBV genomes in mother–child pair at 6-month-old. Results A total of 1,565 pregnant women were screened, and HBsAg prevalence was 4.28% (67/1565). HBeAg positivity was 41.8% and was significantly associated with high viral load (p

Abstract Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the major public health problems globally as well as in Cambodia. Continuous information on HBV infection burden is required to implement effective disease control strategies. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and genotype distribution of HBV infection in Cambodia through a systematic review with meta-analysis. Methods Four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) were used to search published studies reporting either HBV prevalence or genotype distribution in Cambodia until August 21, 2020. Reviews, modeling studies, and studies conducted among Cambodian permanently living abroad were excluded. The Freeman–Tukey double arcsine transformation was implemented to achieve approximate normality. The DerSimonian and Laird method was used to compute pooled estimates based on the transformed values and their variance. Possible publication bias was assessed by the Egger test and the funnel plot. Results A total of 22 studies were included, covering 22,323 people. Ten studies reported HBV prevalence in the general population. The HBV infection prevalence was 4.73% (95%CI: 2.75–7.17%) in the general population and 19.87% (95%CI: 10.95–30.63%) in high-risk/co-infected groups. By sub-group analysis, the prevalence was 6.81% (95% CI: 4.43–9.66) in adults older than 15 years old, 2.37% (95% CI:0.04–7.05) in children 6–15 years old, and 2.47% (95% CI: 0.96–4.59) in children less than five years old. The prevalence of HBV infection decreased over time. Predominant HBV genotypes were genotypes C and B with 82.96% and 16.79%, respectively. Conclusions The decrease in HBV infection prevalence in Cambodia demonstrates the effects of national hepatitis B immunization, improved clinical hygiene, and the use of disposable devices. However, the estimated HBV prevalence among the general population indicates an intermediate endemicity level of HBV infection. Therefore, population screening and linkage to care, high vaccination coverage, health promotion, and HBV surveillance are essential to meet the WHO 2030 goal.

Abstract Background Detailed characteristics of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Burkina Faso are scarce. The main aim of this study was to assess HCV seroprevalence in various settings and populations at risk in Burkina Faso between 1990 and 2020. Secondary objectives included the prevalence of HCV Ribonucleic acid (RNA) and the distribution of HCV genotypes. Methods A systematic database search, supplemented by a manual search, was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and African Index Medicus. Studies reporting HCV seroprevalence data in low and high-risk populations in Burkina Faso were included, and a random-effects meta-analysis was applied. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs institute checklist. Results Low-risk populations were examined in 31 studies involving a total of 168,151 subjects, of whom 8330 were positive for HCV antibodies. Six studies included a total of 1484 high-risk persons, and 96 had antibodies to HCV. The pooled seroprevalence in low-risk populations was 3.72% (95% CI: 3.20–4.28) and 4.75% (95% CI: 1.79–8.94) in high-risk groups. A non-significant decreasing trend was observed over the study period. Seven studies tested HCV RNA in a total of 4759 individuals at low risk for HCV infection, and 81 were positive. The meta-analysis of HCV RNA yielded a pooled prevalence of 1.65% (95% CI: 0.74–2.89%) in low-risk populations, which is assumed to be indicative of HCV prevalence in the general population of Burkina Faso and suggests that about 301,174 people are active HCV carriers in the country. Genotypes 2 and 1 were the most frequent, with 60.3% and 25.0%, respectively. Conclusions HCV seroprevalence is intermediate in Burkina Faso and indicates the need to implement effective control strategies. There is a paucity of data at the national level and for rural and high-risk populations. General population screening and linkage to care are recommended, with special attention to rural and high-risk populations.

Background: This longitudinal study aimed to determine chronological changes in the seroprevalence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, including asymptomatic infections in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Methods: A stratified random sample of 7,500 residents from five cities of Hiroshima Prefecture was selected to participate in a three-round survey from late 2020 to early 2021, before the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. The seroprevalence of anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was calculated if at least two of four commercially available immunoassays were positive. Then, the ratio between seroprevalence and the prevalence of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hiroshima was calculated and compared to the results from other prefectures where the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare conducted a survey by using the same reagents at almost the same period. Results: The numbers of participants in the first, second, and third rounds of the survey were 3025, 2396, and 2351, respectively and their anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies seroprevalences were 0.03% (95% confidence interval: 0.00–0.10%), 0.08% (0.00–0.20%), and 0.30% (0.08–0.52%), respectively. The ratio between the seroprevalence and the prevalence of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hiroshima was 1.2, which was smaller than that in similar studies in other prefectures. Conclusions: The seroprevalence of anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Hiroshima increased tenfold in a half year. The difference between seroprevalence and the prevalence of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hiroshima was smaller than that in other prefectures, suggesting that asymptomatic patients were more actively detected in Hiroshima.