Molecular epidemiological studies show that hepatitis A virus is endemic among active homosexual men in Europe

Stene‐Johansen, Kathrine; Tjon, Grace; Schreier, E.; Bremer, Viviane; Bruisten, Sylvia M.; Ngui, Siew-Lin; King, Mike; Pintó, Rosa M.; Aragonès, Lluís; Mazick, A; Corbet, Sylvie; Sundqvist, Lena; Blystad, Hans; Nordér, Helené; Skaug, Kjell

doi:10.1002/jmv.20781

Cited by 74 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Other early studies identified oro-anal sexual contact as the most likely transmission route among MSM [10]. In recent years, outbreaks of hepatitis A among MSM have been described in most high-income countries [11].…”

Section: Hepatitis Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, a collaborative European study was undertaken to determine if HAV strains that cause outbreaks among MSM in different countries are genetically related [11]. By comparing sequences, it was shown that the majority of strains found among MSM in the participating European countries formed closely related clusters belonging to genotype 1A.…”

Section: Hepatitis Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not only the case in Europe, for example, in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, but also in other countries around the globe, like Japan [19][20][21]. For HAV and HCV, several studies have shown that there is ongoing transmission of several different MSM-specific viral strains within MSM networks [11,22]. Thus far, research indicates that just one HBV strain circulates among MSM in high-income countries.…”

Section: Hepatitis Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Viral hepatitis among men who have sex with men, epidemiology and public health consequences

et al. 2009

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Viral hepatitis causes major disease burden worldwide, due to the chronic hepatitis sequelae: cirrhosis and primary liver cancer. Transmission of viral hepatitis is a problem not only in low-income countries, but also in high-income ones where viral hepatitis is a frequently occurring infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). Although the transmission routes of the three main hepatitis viruses, A, B and C, differ, MSM mainly acquire viral hepatitis during sexual contact. Vaccination programmes (only available for hepatitis A and B), raising awareness, and screening can be used to prevent transmission. However, despite the introduction of such methods in many high-income countries, the spread of viral hepatitis among MSM is still ongoing. This paper provides an overview of sexually acquired hepatitis A, B, and C among MSM in high-income countries, using recent insights obtained through molecular epidemiology, with the aim to raise awareness, improve vaccination coverage, and stimulate prevention programs.

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Section: Hepatitis Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hepatitis Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hepatitis Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Viral hepatitis among men who have sex with men, epidemiology and public health consequences

et al. 2009

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“…Presumptive positive samples were rerun using a nested classic RT-PCR using primers with slight modifications targeting the VP1-2A region (6,11). The sequences detected on the dates from the two companies showed similarity for 455 of 460 nucleotides, and were typed as a HAV genotype IA.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Surveillance Study of Hepatitis A Virus RNA on Fig and Date Samples

Boxman

Loeke

Klunder

et al. 2012

Appl Environ Microbiol

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A total of 91 fig and 185 date samples were analyzed by reverse transcription (RT) real-time PCR for the presence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA. Two batches of dates tested positive, and the HAV RNA detected was genotyped as IA. These findings warrant further development of methods applicable to food which is consumed untreated and is exported from countries in which HAV is endemic. Foods implicated in food-borne hepatitis are filter-feeding bivalve molluscs and produce such as leafy vegetables and soft fruits. Produce may become contaminated with viruses during cultivation, harvest, processing, storage, distribution, or final preparation (3, 4). A wide variety of products from regions in which hepatitis A virus (HAV) is endemic are nowadays internationally traded and imported into areas of low endemicity, which may result in a higher likelihood of severe symptomatic illness developing in adults (10). A surveillance study was initiated after the report in 2007 of a Dutch patient with hepatitis A (data not shown) with no risk factors for HAV infection but with a frequent consumption of dates.Between June 2009 and November 2010, 91 samples of figs and 185 samples of dates from at least 12 exporting countries were collected from retail stores throughout the Netherlands. Samples, each about 250 to 300 g, were transported and stored at room temperature until analyses for the presence of HAV RNA were performed. Of each retail sample, a subsample of 30 g of figs or dates was weighed in a plastic container and inoculated with 2 ϫ 10 2 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID 50 ) feline calicivirus (FCV) (10 l) (kindly provided by E. Duizer, RIVM, Bilthoven, The Netherlands). FCV was chosen as the sample process control virus (1) because FCV was already in use for detection of norovirus (NoV) RNA and because the use of Mengo MC0, which is more similar to HAV, as a control was not allowed in our laboratory as it is a genetically modified organism (GMO). An equal amount of FCV was added to 90 l of H 2 O and kept frozen for use as a 100% control sample in downstream analysis.After an incubation period of 20 min at room temperature, to allow the spike to dry and attach to the matrix, 5 ml of TGBE elution buffer (100 mM Tris, 50 mM glycine, 1% [wt/vol] beef extract, pH 9.5) was added to each container. The surfaces of the fruits were rinsed at least 10 times with the TGBE buffer by repeatedly pipetting. After 15 min, 2 ml of the solution was transferred to an Eppendorf tube and clarified by centrifugation at 10,000 ϫ g at 4°C for 15 min. Subsequently, the supernatant was transferred to a 50-ml tube and used for RNA extraction using the Nuclisens magnetic extraction reagent kit (bioMérieux Benelux, Boxtel, The Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The RNA was eluted into 100 l of elution buffer included in the kit, and samples were stored at Ϫ80°C until further analyses. For virus extraction from fig and date samples, the above-described extraction method was proven to be at least as good in our laborato...

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“…With regard to adults, certain categories of people, such as men who have sexual intercourse with men, both injection and noninjection drug users, and travelers returning from developing countries, are exposed to a higher risk of infection and therefore are subjected to cyclic outbreaks of hepatitis A (1,3,8,11,12,15,17,18). It is also worth mentioning that HAVinfected persons with chronic liver disease are likely to develop fulminant hepatitis A (14, 16).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multicentric Evaluation of New Commercial Enzyme Immunoassays for the Detection of Immunoglobulin M and Total Antibodies against Hepatitis A Virus

Arcangeletti

Dussaix

Ferraglia

et al. 2011

Clin. Vaccine Immunol.

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A multicentric clinical study was conducted on representative sera from 1,738 European and U.S. subjects for the evaluation of new anti-hepatitis A virus enzyme immunoassays from Bio-Rad Laboratories. Comparison with reference DiaSorin S.p.A. tests confirmed the good performance of Bio-Rad assays (99.85% and 99.47% overall agreement in detecting total antibodies and IgM, respectively).The etiological agent of hepatitis A is a nonenveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus that is typically transmitted via the fecal-oral route (4).Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is still the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide and remains a serious health problem not only in the developing world, but also in industrialized countries (6, 10). It can lead to a multiplicity of clinical features, ranging from asymptomatic infection to fulminant fatal disease (16).Over the last decades, improvement in the living conditions of several world populations has prevented young people from acquiring asymptomatic infection (which provides lifelong protection), leaving them susceptible to hepatitis A infection (2, 4). With regard to adults, certain categories of people, such as men who have sexual intercourse with men, both injection and noninjection drug users, and travelers returning from developing countries, are exposed to a higher risk of infection and therefore are subjected to cyclic outbreaks of hepatitis A (1,3,8,11,12,15,17,18). It is also worth mentioning that HAVinfected persons with chronic liver disease are likely to develop fulminant hepatitis A (14, 16). This global scenario of hepatitis A epidemiology calls for an increase in research to be carried out in the coming years and for measures to be taken to control and prevent the spread of this infectious disease. In particular, vaccination against hepatitis A is recommended for all the aforementioned high-risk categories of people and represents an important tool in the prevention of virus spread and epidemic outbreaks (5).Laboratory diagnosis of hepatitis A is based mainly on the detection of antibodies associated with acute and past infection (IgM and IgG, respectively); complementary tests can be used in some cases for the diagnosis of recent infection (9, 13). In prevaccination programs, however, the detection of total anti-HAV antibodies is also critical for establishing whether individuals have acquired immunity and for identifying those susceptible to HAV infection.This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two novel anti-HAV enzyme immunoassays (EIA) developed by Bio-Rad Laboratories (the Monolisa anti-HAV IgM EIA and the Monolisa anti-HAV EIA) and to compare their results to those obtained using the FDA-approved ETI-AB-HAV-IgMK Plus and ETI-AB-HAVK Plus assays from DiaSorin S.p.A. The tests were performed and the results interpreted according to the manufacturers' instructions. Relative sensitivity and specificity, as well as agreement between the Bio-Rad and DiaSorin assay results, were calculated, with unresolved equivocal (concordant and discordant...

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Molecular epidemiological studies show that hepatitis A virus is endemic among active homosexual men in Europe

Cited by 74 publications

References 23 publications

Viral hepatitis among men who have sex with men, epidemiology and public health consequences

Viral hepatitis among men who have sex with men, epidemiology and public health consequences

Surveillance Study of Hepatitis A Virus RNA on Fig and Date Samples

Multicentric Evaluation of New Commercial Enzyme Immunoassays for the Detection of Immunoglobulin M and Total Antibodies against Hepatitis A Virus

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