• Shuaibu Abdullahi Hudu, Mohd Taib Niazlin, NordinSyafinaz AminSADepartment of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia., Soek Siam Tan, Haniza Omar, Hamiza Shahar, Noor Aliza Mutalib, and Zamberi Sekawi.
• Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, 840232 Sokoto State, Nigeria.
• Afr Health Sci. 2018 Dec 1; 18 (4): 1117-1133.

BackgroundHepatitis B virus co-infection with other strains of viral hepatitis is associated with increased risk of liver cirrhosis and hepatic decompensation.ObjectivesThis is a prevalence study that assessed the genetic diversity of chronic hepatitis B patients and coinfection.MethodsChronic hepatitis B patients enrolled in this study were tested for antibodies of other hepatitis viruses using ELISA kits. Patient clinical profiles were collected and partial genes of HBV, HCV, and HEV were amplified, sequenced, and analyzed using phylogenetic analysis. The associations between variables were determined using the chi-squared test.ResultsOf the 82 patients recruited for this study, 53.7% were non-cirrhotic, 22.0% cirrhotic, 20.7% acute flare and 3.7% hepatocellular carcinoma. Majority (58%) of patients had a high level of ALT (≥34 U/L). Sequence analysis showed HBV (63.9%) belonged to genotype B, HEV belonged to genotype 4 while HCV belonged to genotype 3a and the genotypes were found to be significantly associated with the clinical stage of the patients (χ2=56.632; p<0.01). Similarly, Hepatitis B e antigen was also found to be significantly associated with the clinical stage of infection (χ2=51.952; p<0.01).ConclusionThis study revealed that genetic diversity was found to have a significant impact on the severity of infection.

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