3^rd International Congress on Viral Hepatitis August 10-30, -0001 London, UK

Fasakin Kolawole is a Chief Biomedical Scientist/ Researcher at Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, Nigeria with passionate interest in advances in diagnostic haematology, flowcytometry and viral hepatitis B and C, and human immunodeficiency virus. He is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) for over five years and an examiner at different times for the First and second professional examinations of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria at ABUAD. He was first PEPFAR-Supported ART Laboratory Manager at Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti and have published eighteen articles of academic research findings in international journals. He is a reviewer for journal houses including SCIENCEDOMAIN International and the World Health Organization. He has attended several conferences and won awards of repute at both national and international levels on HIV/AIDS (including the Global health Travel Awards) and different aspects of laboratory haematology.

Background: Blood transfusion comes with its various risks especially as it concerns transmission of blood-borne infections. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening is mandatory for certifying blood donors fit for donation. This study seeks to advance serologic and molecular diagnosis of HBV in prospective blood donors (PBD) beyond routine single-marker HBsAg screening.rnMethods: Four hundred and seventy (470) PBD were screened for HBV markers between August, 2014 and November, 2015. Serologic screening for HBV markers; estimation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels as well as confirmatory and viral load assays were performed on plasma samples separated from blood donors. First-line serologic assays were performed by rapid enzyme immunoassay techniques and subsequent HBsAg by ELISA technique. Confirmatory and quantification assays were performed with real-time PCR. ALT level was estimated spectrophotometrically. SPSS version 21 software was used to analyze data. P < 0.05 was statistically significant.rnResults: Study showed that the overall mean age and gender ratio of PBD were 26.87 ± 7.51years and 1.45:1 respectively. Chi square analysis revealed that PBD had right knowledge of most of the routes of hepatitis B and C viral transmission (χ2 range = 11.6 - 102.3, p < 0.05). HBsAg seroprevalence was 6.38% based on NOVA 5-in-1 rapid EIA compared to 7.02% based on ELISA technique. Cummulative HBV markers seroprevalence was 19.36% and the impact of age groups of PBD on it was statistically significant (p < 0.002). Comparison of serologic techniques using real-time PCR as the gold standard, and DOR showed that NOVA 5-in-1 HBV rapid EIA was nearly 7-fold better than ELISA technique (adjusted DOR: 53,740 compared to 7,625) for HBsAg detection. The mean HBV-DNA viral load and ALT of chronic inactive carriers of HBV were 1311.0 ± 1165.5 IU/mL and 15.5 ± 1.5 IU/L while those of chronic immune tolerant hepatitis B infected blood donors were 31313849.7 ± 5726513.5 IU/mL and 17.7 ± 1.2 respectively.rnConclusion: Combination of serologic and molecular analyses as well as estimation of ALT levels constitutes better diagnostic tools. The use of more stringent serologic techniques and workable algorithm to reduce risks associated with blood transfusion and enhance both blood donors’ and recipients’ safety is no longer a luxury but a necessity. rn

Izabella Liguori is a Brazilian, clinical and hospital psychologist, cognitive-behavioral therapist. Master in Health in Brazil in the Federal University of Juiz de Fora with emphasis on research inrnchronic hepatitis C. Coordinator in the Department of Hospital Psychology, Hospital and Maternity Therezinha de Jesus, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil; working for more than 10 years in this area.rn

The effectiveness of antiviral therapy with pegylated interferon andrnribavirin for chronic hepatitis C is far from ideal and presents severalrnadverse events. Among such events, there is the depressive episode that can even lead to treatment discontinuity. Objective - Analyze thernincidence of depressive episodes in patients with chronic hepatitis Crntreated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, as well as the possiblernfactors associated with its occurrence and its impact on patients’ sustained virological response. Methods - People with chronic hepatitis C undergoing antiviral therapy were interviewed at the baseline, at the 4th, 12th, 24th and 48th treatment weeks and 4 weeks after the end of it, using the HADS scale for tracking the depressive episode.Patients with HADS ≥9 were subjected to Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) to grade the episode.Clinical, sociodemographic,laboratorial and histological variables were obtained to identify factors related to the onset of depression. The sustained virological response rate (negative HCV-RNA 6 months after end of therapy) was compared among patients with and without depressive symptoms.Results - The study comprised 32 patients.The depressive episode was diagnosed in 25% of the patients and the peak incidence was found in the 12th treatment week. The depressive episode was moderate in 87% of the patients.None of the analyzed factors was associated with depressive episode onset. A trend was observed in female patients.The sustained virological response raternwas of 75% and 67% in patients with and without depressive episode,rnrespectively.Conclusion-.The study show that the incidence of depressivernepisodes in Brazilian patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with PEGrnIFN alpha and ribavirin, is high.It is recommended that patientsrnundergoing antiviral therapy with pegylated interferon should bernsystematically evaluated in search for depressive episode, especially inrnthe first 12 weeks of therapy, since the depressive episode affects arnsignificant number of treated patients.rn

Friedhelm Struck has an expertise in serodiagnostics of infectious diseases for 20 years, and is employed as a project manager of infections and autoimmune diseases at Mikrogen GmbH since 2008.

Introduction\r\nBeing underdiagnosed for a long time, the Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is now known to be endemic in Europe and often described as the most frequent viral cause for acute hepatitis. HEV ELISA test systems are used routinely as screening assays in serological diagnostics and for epidemiological studies. In this evaluation the performance of the improved versions of recomWell HEV IgG, IgM, distributed since 06/2015, was compared to Wantai HEV IgG, IgM. Both brands represent the two most commonly used commercial HEV ELISA assays in Europe. \r\nMaterial and methods\r\nIn order to detect seroprevalences in Germany 200 sera from healthy blood donors (Bavarian Red Cross) have been analyzed with recomWell HEV IgG (new & previous version) and Wantai IgG. Diagnostic sensitivity of recomWell HEV IgM (new) and Wantai IgM was evaluated using 89 well-defined samples from patients with confirmed acute HEV infection. Subsequent follow-up samples from one PCR positive patient have been analyzed with both ELISA IgM assays. Diagnostic specificity of recomWell HEV IgM (new) and Wantai IgM was determined with a HEV panel consisting of 359 samples (200 sera from blood donors and 159 sera from patients with clinical suspicion of non-E-hepatitis confirmed as HIV, HCV, HAV, Parvovirus B19, EBV, or CMV positive). \r\nResults\r\nAnalysis of 200 German blood donors results in similar HEV seroprevalences for recomWell IgG (33%) and Wantai IgG (32%). The clear improvement in sensitivity is demonstrated by the comparison of the new (33%) and previous version (18.5%) of recomWell HEV IgG. \r\nWith respect to diagnostic specificity both, recomWell IgG and Wantai IgG, demonstrated a very good and comparable performance (data not shown). \r\nWith 98.9% recomWell HEV IgM shows excellent diagnostic sensitivity. Only one serum from a total of 89 was not found positive, whereas Wantai HEV IgM missed 6 sera, reaching a sensitivity of 93.3%. Analysis of paired samples demonstrates that recomWell HEV IgM detects IgM specific antibodies over a long period starting at the end of the viremic phase. Interestingly, Wantai HEV IgM is not able to detect specific antibodies in any sample of this PCR positive individual. IgG seroconversion was confirmed (data not shown).\r\nBoth test systems, recomWell HEV IgM and Wantai HEV IgM, show a convincing specificity. Only 5 from 359 sera were found positive by each assay, resulting in a diagnostic specificity of 98.6%. \r\n\r\nConclusion\r\nThe new recomWell HEV IgG, IgM assays show an excellent performance. Diagnostic sensitivity for IgG antibodies is similar to Wantai HEV IgG, reflected by the determination of comparable seroprevalences for German blood donors. Achieving a diagnostic sensitivity of 98.9% recomWell HEV IgM performs better compared to Wantai HEV IgM with 93.3% and is highly suitable for the detection of acute Hepatitis E. \r\n