Reverse vertical transmission of hepatitis-B from transfusion-infected children to biological mothers

A case of child-to-father transmission of hepatitis B virus in Japan: a rare infection route

This report describes a rare horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) from an unvaccinated 6-year-old boy to his father. The father had been diagnosed with acute hepatitis B 1 month earlier; therefore, when the child visited the clinic with fever, he was screened for HBV markers and diagnosed as an asymptomatic carrier. Neither the child nor his father was vaccinated against HBV, whereas the child's mother and sister, having received the HBV vaccination as they were medical staff and a nursing student, respectively, tested negative for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and positive for anti-HBs. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of HBV in the child and his father, and identified 100% homologous strains of identical genotype C. At diagnosis, the father tested positive for IgM anti-hepatitis B core with a high titer, whereas the child tested negative for this marker. These data strongly indicated a child-to-father transmission. In this case, the HBV infection route was speculated as close contact including saliva-based transmission between the child and father, mainly attributed to their daily food habits. When clinicians diagnose patients with acute or chronic HBV infection, the household members should have been examined for HBV markers immediately. If some household members are susceptible to HBV infection, all members should be vaccinated against HBV.

Association between IL-37 gene polymorphisms and risk of HBV-related liver disease in a Saudi Arabian population

Interleukin-37 (IL-37) has recently been recognized as a strong anti-inflammatory cytokine having anti-tumor activity against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients. HCC is a typical inflammation-related cancer, and genetic variations within the IL-37 gene may be associated with the risk of HBV infection. Identification of the allelic patterns that genetically have a high disease risk is essential for the development of preventive diagnostics for HBV-mediated liver disease pathogenesis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the IL-37 gene and disease sequelae associated with HBV infection. We genotyped ten IL-37 SNPs in 1274 patients infected with HBV and 599 healthy controls from a Saudi Arabian population. Among the selected SNPs, two SNPs (rs2723175 and rs2708973) were strongly associated with HBV infection, and six SNPs (rs2723176, rs2723175, rs2723186, rs364030, rs28947200, rs4392270) were associated with HBV clearance, comparing healthy controls and HBV infected-patients respectively. A suggestive association of rs4849133 was identified with active HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) carrier and HBV-related liver disease progression. In conclusion, our findings suggest that variations at the IL-37 gene may be useful as genetic predictive risk factors for HBV infection and HBV-mediated liver disease progression in the Saudi Arabian population.