OBJECTIVETo study the simple infection and super/co-infection of HAV-HEV, HGV in patients with viral hepatitis.

METHODSUsing EIA method to detect anti-HAV IgM, HBV serum markers, anti-HCV IgM, anti-HDV IgM, anti-HEV IgM, anti-HGV IgM in viral hepatitis patients with different clinical types.

RESULTSSeventy-three percent patients (154/210) had HBV infection markers, twenty-nine percent patients (61/210) had HAV infection marker, eight percent patients (17/210) had HCV, HDV infection markers, ten percent patients (21/210) had HEV infection and seven percent patients (15/210) had HGV infection. Only nine percent patients (20/210) had viral hepatitis serum markers negative. In all clinical types, sixty-one percent patients had only one type hepatitis virus infection, thirty-two percent patients had two types of hepatitis virus super/co-infection, six percent patients had three types of hepatitis virus super/co-infection. Super/co-infection often occurred in patients who had cirrhosis or hepatic failure.

CONCLUSIONHBV and HAV infection is very common in viral hepatitis patients, whereas HCV, HDV, HEV and HGV infection is relatively low; double super/co-infection of HAV-HEV, HGV frequently occurs in severe patients with viral hepatitis.

Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; GB virus C ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis A ; epidemiology ; virology ; Hepatitis A virus ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis E ; epidemiology ; virology ; Hepatitis E virus ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis Viruses ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; epidemiology ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Superinfection

No abstract available.
Hepatitis A/*epidemiology ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/*isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human/*epidemiology

Dengue fever is an acute febrile disease caused by the dengue virus, which belongs to the flaviviridae family, and this virus is transmitted by the bite of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. It occurs in the tropical climates of the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, India, Africa and the subtropical zone of America. Imported cases of Dengue fever and Dengue hemorrhagic fever are rapidly increasing as many Koreans are now traveling abroad. Liver injury is usually detected by laboratory investigation according to a surveillance protocol. Although liver injury by dengue virus has been described in Asia and the Pacific islands, the pathogenic mechanisms are not yet fully clarified. It is usually expressed in a self-limiting pattern and the patient has a complete recovery. We report here on a case of a young woman who presented with general weakness, nausea and significant elevation of the aminotransferase levels, and she was diagnosed with dengue fever.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever/complications/*diagnosis/virology ; Dengue Virus/*isolation & purification ; Female ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human/*diagnosis/virology ; Humans

Blood Donors ; DNA Virus Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Hepatitis Viruses ; classification ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; epidemiology ; virology ; Humans ; Transfusion Reaction

BACKGROUNDTo study etiology of clinically diagnosed non A-E hepatitis.

METHODSHBV, TTV, human parvovirus B19, SENV DNA were detected by nested polymerase chain reactions (nPCR), while HGV, HCV RNA were tested by reverse transcription nested polymerase chain reactions (RT-nPCR).

RESULTSOf 60 patients with clinically diagnosed non A-E hepatitis, 30 (50.0%) were HBV DNA positive alone, 10 (16.7%) HBV and TTV DNA positive, 6 (10.0%) HBV and B19 DNA positive; 1 (1.7%) HBV, SENV DNA and HCV RNA positive, 1 (1.7%) HCV RNA positive alone, 1 (1.7%) HCV RNA and B19 DNA positive, 2 (3.3%) B19 DNA positive alone, 1 (1.7%) TTV DNA positive alone, and the remaining 8 (13.3%) negative for all viruses. All the 60 patients were HGV RNA negative. There were no differences in serum biochemical markers of hepatitis B patients with or without TTV or B19 virus infection.

CONCLUSIONSHBV is a major etiologic agent for the clinically diagnosed non A-E hepatitis. HGV, TTV, B19 and SEBV may not be associated with nonA-E hepatitis.

Adult ; Aged ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Female ; Hepacivirus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B ; diagnosis ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; diagnosis ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Viral ; blood ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There was a spiking incidence of acute hepatitis A (AHA) in 2009 summer, but it went down drastically after an outbreak of influenza A (H1N1). We assessed the relationship between 2009 H1N1 pandemic and AHA prevalence from August to December 2009. METHODS: We compared AHA cases nationwide and in our hospital for the period from the latter half of 2008 to the end of 2010. H1N1 cases in our hospital from August 2009 to December 2009 were included in the study and the correlation between 2009 H1N1 pandemic and AHA prevalence was assessed. RESULTS: The national surveillance system reported 2,233, 7,895, 15,231 and 7,660 AHA cases from 2007 to 2010, respectively. A similar trend was noted in our hospital in the same periods. Although the national total incidence was increased in 2009, it showed steep decreasing trend line in the final 21 weeks of 2009 (weeks 32-52), as compared with 2008 and 2010. The mean weekly incidence percentage (AHA cases in a week/total in a year) in weeks 32-52 of 2009 was 1.17+/-0.55%, significantly lower than that in 2008 and 2010 (1.61+/-0.43% and 1.56+/-0.51%; p<0.001). Furthermore, we found a significant negative correlation between 2009 H1N1 pandemic and AHA in our hospital for weeks 32-52 of 2009 (r=-0.597; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The widespread occurrence of 2009 H1N1 pandemic highlighted the benefits of health care and good hygiene, such as effective hand washing and wearing of masks, which may have also interrupted hepatitis A virus transmission.
Acute Disease ; Hepatitis A/*epidemiology ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/*isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human/*epidemiology/virology ; Pandemics ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Seasons

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Circoviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; DNA, Viral ; analysis ; Female ; Genotype ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Substance Abuse, Intravenous ; virology ; Torque teno virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo study the instructional significance of HBV-DNA load in maternal milk on breastfeeding of postpartum women infected with HBV.

METHODSHBV-DNA levels in serum and breast milk were detected by FQ-PCR in 152 postpartum women infected with HBV, and HBV-DNA ≥ 1.0 × 10(3) U/ml was defined as HBV positive. Correlation analysis was also conducted to estimate if there were relations in HBV levels in serum and breast milk.

RESULTSHBV-DNA positive rate were 50.66% (77/152) and 36.18% (55/152) in serum and breast milk, respectively. When HBeAg was positive, HBV-DNA positive rate were 95.38% (62/65) and 76.92% (50/65) in serum and breast milk; however when HBeAg was negative, HBV-DNA positive rate were 17.24% (15/87) and 5.75% (5/87) in serum and breast milk. When the concentration of HBV-DNA was 3-4 lg U/ml in serum, HBV-DNA positive rate was 20.00% (5/25) in breast milk; However, when the concentration of HBV-DNA was higher than 5 lg U/ml in serum, HBV-DNA positive rate was 96.15% (50/52) in breast milk.

CONCLUSIONThe HBV-DNA level in breast milk in postpartum women infected with HBV increased with the HBV-DNA levels in serum. Breastfeeding should be avoided when the concentration of HBV-DNA is higher than 1.0 × 10(3) U/ml in milk.

Adult ; Breast Feeding ; DNA, Viral ; isolation & purification ; Female ; Hepatitis B ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; prevention & control ; Milk, Human ; virology ; Viral Load ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Long-term efficacy and the rate of viral breakthrough in patients with HBeAg- negative chronic hepatitis B receiving lamivudine therapy is uncertain. This study was conducted to determine the rate of viral breakthrough according to the HBeAg status and the relation of viral breakthrough with YMDD mutants. METHODS: Two hundred and five patients with HBeAg-positive and 49 patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B, who had received lamivudine for at least 9 months, were included. The mean durations of the lamivudine treatment were 176 months and 155 months in HBeAg-positive and negative patients, respectively. Analysis of HBV genome for YMDD mutations was performed by restriction-fragment-length polymorphism assay and direct sequencing. RESULTS: While the cumulative rates of viral breakthrough at 12th and 24th months of the lamivudine therapy were 0% and 7% in the HBeAg-negative group, they were 12% and 39% in the HBeAg-positive group. The cumulative rate of viral breakthrough in the HBeAg-negative group was significantly lower than in the HBeAg-positive group (p<0.01). In multivariate analysis, the only significant factor related to viral breakthrough was the HBeAg status (p<0.05). The YMDD mutants were detected in all patients with viral breakthrough irrespective of HBeAg status. However, in patients without viral breakthrough, the rate of YMDD mutants was significantly higher in the HBeAg-negative group than in the HBeAg-positive group (13.3% vs 5.1%; p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Lamivudine is expected to be more persistently effective in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B because of a lower viral breakthrough rate than in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B in spite of the emergence of YMDD mutants.
Adult ; Amino Acid Motifs/genetics ; Antiviral Agents/*therapeutic use ; English Abstract ; Female ; Hepatitis B Virus/genetics/isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B e Antigens/*blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*drug therapy/*virology ; Human ; Lamivudine/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUND/AIM: A significant correlation between HBV DNA and liver damage was found in precore mutant strains but there was no significant association between viral replication and liver damage in HBeAg positive patients. Laboratory tests are often requested to predict hepatitis activity (grade) and fibrosis (stage) in HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B. We assessed ALT, AST, and HBV-branched DNA to find which is the best for predicting hepatitis activity and fibrosis. METHODS: Routine biochemical liver function tests and HBV DNA in sera were assessed in 119 young patients positive with HBsAg and HBeAg. The mean age of patients was 21+/-2 years. All patients were male. By logistic regression analysis the relationships between laboratory data, hepatitis activity, fibrosis, or risk of chronic active hepatitis were analyzed. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation between aminotransferase (AST, ALT) and hepatitis activity/ fibrosis. A significant inverse relationship between the HBV bDNA and hepatitis activity was demonstrated (Pearson's correlation coefficient: lobular activity,-0.305; porto-periportal activity, -0.410). But HBV bDNA was not correlated with severity of fibrosis. AST and HBV bDNA was the important test for predicting the more severe hepatitis activity (lobular activity and porto-periportal activity: score> or =3, respectively) CONCLUSION: The higher AST, but the lower HBV bDNA, in sera shows the more severe hepatitis activity. AST and HBV bDNA could be helpful for assessing the hepatitis activity in young male patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B if proper reference values are used.
Adult ; Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood ; DNA, Viral/*analysis ; English Abstract ; Enzyme Tests ; Hepatitis B Virus/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B e Antigens/*blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/diagnosis/*pathology/virology ; Human ; Liver/pathology ; Male