Article (Scientific journals)
Phylogeography, risk factors and genetic history of hepatitis C virus in Gabon, central Africa.
Njouom, Richard; Caron, Melanie; Besson, Guillaume et al.
2012In PLoS ONE, 7 (8), p. 42002
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
 

Files


Full Text
Publi 15.pdf
Author postprint (379.66 kB)
Download

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to



Details



Keywords :
Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Gabon/epidemiology; Hepacivirus/genetics/pathogenicity; Hepatitis C/epidemiology/genetics/transmission; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Phylogeny; Phylogeography; Risk Factors; Sequence Analysis, RNA; Viral Nonstructural Proteins/genetics
Abstract :
[en] BACKGROUND: The epidemiological and molecular characteristics of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the general population have been poorly investigated in Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, genotype distribution and epidemic history of HCV in the Gabonese general population. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A total of 4042 sera collected from adults in 220 villages in all nine administrative areas of the country were screened for antibodies to HCV. HCV NS5B region sequencing was performed for molecular characterization and population genetic analyses. Of 4042 tested sera, 455 (11.2%) were positive. The seroprevalence of HCV varied significantly by administrative area, with the highest rate in Ogooue-Lolo province (20.4%) and the lowest in Ogooue-Maritine province (3.7%). History of parenteral injections, past hospital admission and age over 55 years were independent risk factors for HCV infection (p<0.0001). Phylogenetic analyses showed that 91.9% of the strains were genotype 4 (HCV-4), 5.7% genotype 1 and 2.2% genotype 2. HCV-4 strains were highly heterogeneous, with more than eight subtypes; subtype 4e predominated (57.3%). Coalescence analyses indicated that subtype 4e was the oldest, with an estimated most recent common ancestor of 1702 [95% CI, 1418-1884]. The epidemic profile indicated that it spread exponentially during the first part of the 20th century, probably by iatrogenic transmission. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results confirm the endemicity of HCV subtype 4e in Gabon and show that its spread is due to a cohort effect, with previous, possibly iatrogenic events. More extensive epidemiological studies are needed to better characterize the route of transmission and the dissemination of HCV in Gabon.
Disciplines :
Immunology & infectious disease
Author, co-author :
Njouom, Richard
Caron, Melanie
Besson, Guillaume
Ndong-Atome, Guy-Roger
Makuwa, Maria
Pouillot, Regis
Nkoghe Mba, Dieudonne ;  Université de Liège - ULiège
Leroy, Eric
Kazanji, Mirdad
Language :
English
Title :
Phylogeography, risk factors and genetic history of hepatitis C virus in Gabon, central Africa.
Publication date :
2012
Journal title :
PLoS ONE
eISSN :
1932-6203
Publisher :
Public Library of Science, United States - California
Volume :
7
Issue :
8
Pages :
e42002
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 10 June 2013

Statistics


Number of views
48 (1 by ULiège)
Number of downloads
130 (1 by ULiège)

Scopus citations®
 
48
Scopus citations®
without self-citations
38
OpenCitations
 
43

Bibliography


Similar publications



Contact ORBi