Nucleotide correlation between HAV isolates from human patients and environmental samples

Abstract

Hepatitis A disease is endemic in Albania even though records from the Medical Authority show outbreaks involving only limited numbers of people. In the city of Lac, 200 people became ill following an outbreak of hepatitis A started on November 2002. The age distribution of the cases shows a peak in the age group 5-9 (43.5%) followed by the age group 10-14 (28%) and the age group 1-4 (18%). No cases were recorded in the age group 0-1. Drinking water and sewage samples were collected, using electropositive cartridges, during the outbreak. Rotavirus was identified by RT-PCR in two out of five drinking water samples; however, all the samples tested negative for HAV and astrovirus. Rotavirus was also identified in three out of five sewage samples from which four were HAV positive. HAV-RNA was identified in 28 (62.2%) out of 45 IgM anti-HAV positive sera collected during the outbreak. Genotype IA was expressed from all the amplified samples. Sequence analysis of the overlapping VP1-2A region shows 97-99% homology with three Italian strains IT-SCH-00, IT-ZAM-01, and IT-CAP-00 and one Spanish strain (Sa 30/06/95), whereas the phylogenetic tree built from the 168 bp sequence of the VP1-2A shows four clusters, one including 24 out of 28 RT-PCR positive sera. Considering the deduced amino acid sequence, only one substitution was identified and reported previously for genotype IB.

Influence of enteric viruses on gastroenteritis in Albania: Epidemiological and molecular analysis

“…In contrast to other studies [Lopman et al, 2003;Hamano et al, 2005;Armah et al, 2006] the genomic analysis revealed a limited variability of isolates. These data are not unexpected as Gabrieli et al [2004], examining 50 samples of hepatitis A virus collected from 12 different cities, has shown that the unique genotype present in Albania was the genotype IA, a finding confirmed subsequently in an outbreak of hepatitis A in Lac district [Divizia et al, 2005]. For almost 50 years, Albania was ruled by a regime that kept the country isolated from the rest of the world.…”

A 1-year study of the epidemiology of hepatitis A virus in Tunisia

“…Winter epidemics have also been reported in other countries located in different climate zones. An epidemic that affected more than 800 individuals was reported during the winter of December 1992 ⁄ March 1993 in western France [29], and Divizia et al [30] described an epidemic of HAV which occurred in the Italian lake district between November 2002 and February 2003, with a peak of >40 cases during January 2003.…”

Prevalence and genotyping of human isolates of Giardia duodenalis from Albania

“…Causes of diarrhoea include a wide array of bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Recent studies on microbiological and virological environmental pollution identified the quality of drinking water as a major health problem in the suburbs of the Albanian capital [3][4][5]. Among protozoan parasites, Giardia duodenalis is recognised as one of the most important non-viral infectious agent causing diarrhoeal illness in humans world-wide [6,7].…”