RT Journal Article
T1 Screening for retroviruses and hepatitis viruses using dried blood spots reveals a high prevalence of occult hepatitis B in Ghana
A1 Carmen de Mendoza, 
A1 Bautista Santa Cruz, José Manuel
A1 Susana Pérez-Benavente, 
A1 Roger Kwawu, 
A1 Julius Fobil, 
A1 Vicente Soriano, 
A1 Díez Martín, Amalia
AB Background:Recent advances in antiviral therapy show potential for a cure and/or control of most human infections caused by hepatitis viruses and retroviruses. However, medical success is largely dependent on the identification of the large number of people unaware of these infections, especially in developing countries. Dried blood spots (DBS) have been demonstrated to be a good tool for collecting, storing and transporting clinical specimens from rural areas and limited-resource settings to laboratory facilities, where viral infections can be more reliably diagnosed.Methods:The seroprevalence and virological characterization of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), as well as human retroviruses (HIV-1, HIV-2, human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 [HTLV-1] and human T-cell leukaemia virus type 2 [HTLV-2]), were investigated in clinical specimens collected from DBS in Ghana.Results:A total of 305 consecutive DBS were collected. A high prevalence of chronic HBV (8.5%) and occult hepatitis B (14.2%) was found, whereas rates were lower for HIV-1, HTLV-1 and HCV (3.2%, 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively). HIV-2 and HTLV-2 were absent. CRF02_AG was the predominant HIV-1 subtype, whereas genotype E was the most frequent HBV variant.Conclusions:DBS are helpful in the diagnosis and virological characterization of hepatitis and retrovirus infections in resource-limited settings. The high rate of hepatitis B in Ghana, either overt or occult, is noteworthy and confirms recent findings from other sub-Saharan countries. This should encourage close clinical follow up and antiviral treatment assessment in this population, as well as universal HBV vaccine campaigns.
SN 2049-9361
SN 2049-937X
YR 2019
FD 2019-05-23
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94129
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94129
LA eng
NO 1. de Mendoza C, Bautista JM, Pérez-Benavente S, et al. Screening for retroviruses and hepatitis viruses using dried blood spots reveals a high prevalence of occult hepatitis B in Ghana. Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease. 2019;6. doi:10.1177/2049936119851464
NO Fundación Investigación y Educación en SIDA (F-IES)
NO Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria-FIS (CES12/003)
NO MINECO projects BIO2013-44565R and BIO2016-77430R
NO UCM-Development Cooperation project (2008–2009).
DS Docta Complutense
RD 10 abr 2025