Efficacy of hepatitis B vaccine against antiviral drug-resistant hepatitis B virus mutants in the chimpanzee model #

Commonly Found Variations/Mutations in the HBsAg of Hepatitis B Virus in the Context of Effective Immunization Programs: Questionable Clinical and Public Health Significance

“…From their data set, the authors are specifically referring to a number of HBV variants isolated 13 years after the introduction of the hepatitis B vaccination program (see Table 3 in their article). Of all these variants, only one, the sG145R variant, has been recognized as a vaccine escape variant (VEM) (3,4). The others have the status of naturally occurring polymorphic variants of the HBV.…”

Transmission of antiviral drug resistant hepatitis B virus: Implications for public health and patient management

“…6 The public health significance of this PolymeraseEnvelope overlap was recently highlighted when the theoretical concern of NA-resistant HBV behaving as a potential vaccine escape virus 7 was confirmed in chimpanzees. 8 The common LMVresistant HBV (rtV173L, rtL180M, rtM204V), which has the altered HBsAg envelope of sE164D+sI195M, (the rtL180M is silent in HBsAg), when inoculated into HBV vaccinated chimpanzees with robust levels of anti-HBs, were successfully infected following viral challenge. This experiment established that NA resistant HBV can be transmitted to both non-immune and immunised individuals.…”

“…7 Acute complications (cholecystitis, cholangitis, pancreatitis) develop in 0.1-0.3% of asymptomatic stone carriers per year. 8,9 Obviously, the risk of cholecystitis is higher in patients with large solitary stones, whereas the risk pancreatitis is higher in patients with small multiple stones and preserved gallbladder motility. 10 Most clinicians agree that the majority of asymptomatic subjects should be managed conservatively.…”

Naturally Occurring Polymerase and Surface Gene Variants of Hepatitis B Virus in Turkish Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

“…The public health significance of ADAPVEMs was recently demonstrated in chimpanzees, when the theoretical concern of NUCs resistant-HBV behaving as a potential vaccine escape mutant (28). Our knowledge about clinical evidence for the spread or transmission of ADAPVEMs is limited (20).…”