Hepatitis C virus among blood donors in Lubumbashi, DRC: Seroprevalence and molecular characterisation

OBJECTIVES

To date, no study has been done yet on the distribution of Hepatitis C virus genotypes in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. The objective of this work was to determine the seroprevalence and study the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes among blood donors in Lubumbashi, DRC.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional descriptive study among blood donors. The detection of anti-HCV antibodies was carried out by rapid diagnostic test (RDT) then confirmed by Chemiluminescent immuno-assay (CLIA). Viral load was determined by Nucleic Acid Amplification test (NAT) on Panther system and genotyping by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) on Sentosa platform.

RESULTS

The obtained seroprevalence was 4.8%. Genotypes 3a (5.0%), 4 (90.0%) and 7 (5.0%) and a few drug resistance mutations were identified in the study population. Significant disturbances of some studied biochemical parameters (HDL-cholesterol, direct bilirubin, transaminases, ALP, GGT and albumin) have been observed in positive HCV blood donors. Irregular family and volunteer donors have been found as the socio-demographic characteristics associated with hepatitis C.

CONCLUSION

With a seroprevalence of 4.8% obtained among blood donors, Lubumbashi is in an area with medium endemicity for HCV, highlighting the need to implement strategies aiming to improve transfusion safety among blood recipients in Lubumbashi. This study reports for the first time the presence of HCV strains of genotypes 3a, 4 and 7. These results might allow better therapeutic management of HCV infections and contribute to the development of the mapping of HCV genotypes in Lubumbashi and DRC as well.

Blinded, multicenter quality control study for the quantification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA in plasma by the Belgian AIDS reference laboratories

OBJECTIVE

In order to evaluate the interlaboratory variation of HIV-1 RNA measurements in plasma, the Belgian AIDS reference laboratories organized a blinded multicenter quality control study.

METHODS

Atest panel of coded spiked HIV-1 plasma samples reflecting the dynamic range of the assay was composed and distributed. The HIV-1 RNA concentration of these samples was determined by the eight Belgian AIDS reference laboratories by means of the Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor version 1.5 assay.

RESULTS

Analysis of the results demonstrated that there was little interlaboratory variation for the high concentration range (4.0-5.7 log10 copies/mL), never exceeding 0.2 log10 copies/mL. However the standard deviation for the low concentration range (2.6-3.9 log10 copies/mL) reached up to 0.22 log10 copies/mL.

CONCLUSIONS

Since interlaboratory variability never reached 0.5 log10 copies/mL and each of the laboratories was able to detect four-fold differences in plasma HIV-1 RNA levels, the Amplicor assay can be used in multicenter studies without a centralized analysis of samples. Furthermore, this well-characterized proficiency panel of spiked plasma samples could be used as a standard in the study of interassay comparisons.

Acute parvovirus B19 infection associated with fulminant hepatitis of favourable prognosis in young children

BACKGROUND

The cause of fulminant hepatitis (FH) in children is unexplained in up to 50% of cases. We report parvovirus B19 as an agent associated with FH in children and compare clinical characteristics of these patients with those of age-matched patients with FH of other origin.

METHODS

45 patients presented with FH. No cause was apparent in 21 patients. Parvovirus B19 genome was retrospectively sought by PCR in serum collected at admission in 41 patients.

FINDINGS

Parvovirus B19 genome was detected in serum from four of 21 patients with unexplained FH (four of 11 younger than 5 years). No B19 DNA was detected in serum from patients with other types of FH or from 82 patients with biliary atresia. Parvovirus B19 IgM was detected in one of the four patients. Patients with parvovirus B19 infection had significantly lower bilirubin concentrations than age-matched patients with FH due to hepatitis A (nine) or other causes (nine) (poisoning with amanita excluded). All patients with parvovirus B19 survived without orthotopic liver transplantation, with restoration of normal liver function within 17 days.

INTERPRETATION

In patients younger than 5 years with FH of unexplained origin, evidence of acute parvovirus B19 was associated with a distinct clinical pattern. In particular, low bilirubin concentrations and rapid recovery of liver function without transplantation were distinctive features.

Characterization of a C-type retrovirus isolated from an HIV infected cell line: complete nucleotide sequence

As previously reported, a C-type retrovirus, referred to as retrovirus X was isolated from HIV infected cells. In order to further characterize this virus, the proviral DNA was cloned and sequenced. The organization of the genome (8379 bp) appeared to be typical of the mammalian type C retroviruses. The virus was shown to be closely related to the gibbon ape leukaemia virus (GALV) with 87% similarity when the sequence was compared with the published genome of the Seato strain of GALV. At the level of the long terminal repeat where comparison was possible with other strains, the closest relationship was found with the San Francisco strain of GALV and with the simian sarcoma virus. These results suggest that the isolate should be considered as a strain of GALV.

HIV-1 detection by nested PCR and viral culture in fresh or cryopreserved postmortem skin: potential implications for skin handling and allografting

AIMS

To date, the risk relating to the handling or allografting of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infected postmortem skin remains hypothetical. While blood screening for HIV antibodies is still the key safety procedure to detect HIV infected cadavers, false negative results are a concern. Conversely, false positive results may hamper the collection of skin allografts. Accordingly, viral culture was used to clarify skin infectivity and the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to assess the reliability of skin PCR testing.

METHODS

Viral culture and nested PCR performed with gag and pol specific primers were investigated in cadaveric skin and blood from 12 HIV-1 infected patients. Samples were collected repeatedly between one and five days in seven patients. In most cases, analyses were performed on triplicate skin samples: fresh (n = 26); cryopreserved in 5% dimethylsulphoxide (n = 21), or cryopreserved in 30% glycerol (n = 26).

RESULTS

HIV was isolated in two of 26 cultures of fresh skin specimens (8%), seven of 47 cryopreserved skin specimens (15%), and eight of 26 blood specimens (31%). The nested PCR detected HIV-1 in all skin samples (n = 73), regardless of the postmortem interval or cryopreservation. In blood, a positive signal was found in eight of 12 patients but two of them had discordant results on successive samples.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that nested PCR on postmortem skin samples can detect HIV more reliably than on blood. They also demonstrate the potential viral infectivity of fresh or stored skin postmortem samples in HIV infected patients. They underscore the need for caution during the handling of skin tissue from HIV infected cadavers and confirm the potential risk related to accidental allografting of HIV contaminated skin.

Standardisation of primers and an algorithm for HIV-1 diagnostic PCR evaluated in patients harbouring strains of diverse geographical origin. The Belgian AIDS Reference Laboratories

Eight Belgian AIDS Reference Laboratories established a multicentre quality control to evaluate the performance of their diagnostic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A set of Belgian and African HIV-1 seropositive and seronegative patient samples, collected in Belgium, and the British Medical Research Council (MRC) HIV-1 PCR reference reagent kit, containing plasmid HIV-1 DNA at several dilutions in human carrier DNA with appropriate negative controls, were tested by the laboratories. No false positive results were reported. All laboratories were able to detect one to two copies of HIV-1 DNA. Among the 17 Belgian and African HIV-1 seropositives, some laboratories reported up to four indeterminate results, mainly due to failure of the SK38-39, SK68-69 (Ou et al. (1988) Science 239, 295-297) and/or gag881-882 (Simmonds et al. (1990) J. Virol. 64, 864-872) primers and a poorly performing algorithm. Only the H1POL4235-4538 nested pol primer set, developed by one of the laboratories, correctly identified all the tested HIV-1 positive and negative samples. Consequently, the laboratories decided to evaluate these pol primers as a reference primer set and to standardise the testing algorithm. All laboratories achieved a sensitivity and specificity of 100% on testing 10 additional Belgian and African patient samples, when adapting a standardised algorithm based on three HIV-1 primer sets, one of which is the H1POL4235-4538 primer set.

Expression of the genes encoding bombesin-related peptides and their receptors in anterior pituitary tissue

The bombesin-related peptides gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and neuromedin B (NMB) have been demonstrated in the anterior pituitary (AP) on an immunological basis. We studied the presence of mRNAs for these peptides and for their receptors by RNAse protection assay using fresh adult male rat AP, AP cell reaggregates cultured in the presence of estradiol and the rat AP derived GH3 cell line. In total RNA from fresh AP we detected high amounts of NMB mRNA and much smaller amounts of GRP mRNA, while finding a weak signal for GRP-receptor (GRP-R) and NMB-receptor (NMB-R) mRNAs. In total RNA from the reaggregate cell cultures we detected high levels of NMB mRNA as well as a strong signal for GRP-R mRNA. Finally, in GH3 cells, high levels of NMB mRNA and GRP-R mRNA were found, while GRP mRNA and NMB-R mRNA remained undetectable even in high amounts (200 micrograms) of total RNA. We conclude that mRNAs encoding both bombesin-related peptides and each of the mRNAs encoding their receptors are expressed in rat AP tissue. NMB mRNA is more prominent than GRP mRNA in all AP-like tissues examined (fresh AP, estradiol-treated reaggregate AP cell cultures and GH3 cells). NMB-R mRNA and GRP-R mRNA are both present in low levels in fresh AP whereas the GRP-R mRNA is predominant in GH3 cells and estradiol treated AP reaggregate cell cultures. Compared to fresh AP tissue, NMB mRNA and GRP-R mRNA expression is enhanced in estradiol-treated reaggregate cell cultures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)