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Torimiro JNE, Duri K, Goumkwa NM, Atah SM, Ndzie Ondigui JL, Lobe C, Bouyou M, Ndeboko B, Mahamat Moussa A, Police C, Awoumou P, Peyonga P, Djivida PV, Felix A, Nchinda GW, Wandji B, Simo RK, Agnès Moudourou S, Gutierrez A, Garcia R, Fernandez I, Mah E, Rowland-Jones S, Mbu R. Toward the elimination of hepatitis B: networking to promote the prevention of vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus through population-based interventions and multidisciplinary groups in Africa. Front Public Health 2024; 12:1283350. [PMID: 38645447 PMCID: PMC11026850 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1283350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The WHO African Region had 81 million people with chronic hepatitis B in 2019, which remains a silent killer. Hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis delta virus (HDV), and HIV can be transmitted from the mother to child. If the HBV infection is acquired at infancy, it may lead to chronic hepatitis B in 90% of the cases. WHO reports that 6.4 million children under 5 years live with chronic hepatitis B infection worldwide. The prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HBV is therefore critical in the global elimination strategy of viral hepatitis as we take lessons from PMTCT of HIV programs in Africa. We sought to create a network of multidisciplinary professional and civil society volunteers with the vision to promote cost-effective, country-driven initiatives to prevent the MTCT of HBV in Africa. In 2018, the Mother-Infant Cohort Hepatitis B Network (MICHep B Network) with members from Cameroon, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom and later from Chad, Gabon, and Central African Republic was created. The long-term objectives of the network are to organize capacity-building and networking workshops, create awareness among pregnant women, their partners, and the community, promote the operational research on MTCT of HBV, and extend the network activities to other African countries. The Network organized in Cameroon, two "Knowledge, Attitude and Practice" (KAP) surveys, one in-depth interview of 45 health care workers which revealed a high acceptability of the hepatitis B vaccine by families, two in-person workshops in 2018 and 2019, and one virtual in 2021 with over 190 participants, as well as two workshops on grant writing, bioethics, and biostatistics of 30 postgraduate students. Two HBV seroprevalence studies in pregnant women were conducted in Cameroon and Zimbabwe, in which a prevalence of 5.8% and 2.7%, respectively, was reported. The results and recommendations from the MICHep B Network activities could be implemented in countries of the MICHep B Network and beyond, with the goal of providing free birth dose vaccine against hepatitis B in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Ndongo Embola Torimiro
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Kerina Duri
- Department of Immunology, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Nadège M. Goumkwa
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Solange M. Atah
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | | | - Cindy Lobe
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
| | - Marielle Bouyou
- Department of Parasitology, Mycology and Tropical Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Libreville, Gabon
| | - Bénédicte Ndeboko
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology-Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Libreville, Gabon
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Mère-Enfant de la Fondation Jeanne EBORI (CHUMEFJE), Libreville, Gabon
| | - Ali Mahamat Moussa
- Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine Unit, University Reference Hospital, Gamena, Chad
| | - Camengo Police
- Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine of “Amitié Sino Centrafraine”, University Hospital Center, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | - Patrick Awoumou
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Puinta Peyonga
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Prisca V. Djivida
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Assah Felix
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Godwin W. Nchinda
- Vaccinology Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Brigitte Wandji
- Yaoundé Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Rachel K. Simo
- Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Sylvie Agnès Moudourou
- Medical Unit, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | | | - Rosi Garcia
- Bikop Catholic Health Center, Bikop, Cameroon
| | | | - Evelyn Mah
- Yaoundé Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Sarah Rowland-Jones
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Chantal BIYA International Reference Center for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Robinson Mbu
- Yaoundé Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
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