Prevalence of viral and non-viral hepatitis in Menoua Division, West Region, Cameroon: a retrospective hospital-based study

Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus antigen in patients with chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma at 12th week of treatment: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

epidemiological data suggests that more than 50% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail treatment. The objective of the study was to highlight the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus antigen (HCV Ag) at the 12^th week of treatment.

Methods

during a cross-sectional study, participants with chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were recruited between December 2020 and March 2022 at the Yaoundé General Hospital (HGY) and the University Teaching Hospital of Yaounde (UTHY). Five millilitres of blood samples were taken from each consenting participant and then a qualitative search for HCV Ag by Enzyme-Linked Immuno Assay (ELISA) was performed. Analysis of the results was performed using SPSS Version 25.0 software.

Results

out of the 192 participants selected for the study, only 92 (47,9%) participants were at 12 weeks of treatment, including 69 (75%) participants positive for the hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV Ab) by RDT. Of these participants, 44 (47.8%) participants were positive for HCV Ag by ELISA, respectively 19/37 (51.3%), 14/19 (73.6%), 11/13 (84.6%) with chronic hepatitis (HC), Cirrhosis, and HCC (P<0.0001).

Conclusion

our results showed a high prevalence of HCV Ag in patients at their 12^th week of treatment which predicts treatment failure and calls for public policy to develop new management strategies to prevent HCV treatment failure in our context.

Burden of vaccine-preventable diseases, trends in vaccine coverage and current challenges in the implementation of the expanded program on immunization: A situation analysis of Cameroon

The discovery and development of vaccines remain one of the major successes of global health with millions of lives saved every year through routine vaccination. Although vaccines provide a safe and cost-effective solution to vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), VPDs are still a serious public health problem in most parts of the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Asia. In this review, we discuss the burden of VPDs and vaccine coverage several decades after the introduction of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in Cameroon. We also discuss how different factors affect the implementation of the EPI, highlighting context-specific factors such as the ongoing civil conflict in Cameroon, and the presence of other infectious diseases like COVID-19.