Virus Infection In People Research Articles

Fertility desire and associated factors among antiretroviral therapy users in South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022

Introduction: There were approximately 38 million human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome cases worldwide in 2019, of which 36.2 million were adult cases, of these 25.4 million had access to antiretroviral therapy. The desire to have children among human immune virus-infected people has significant implications for the transmission of the human immune virus. In many developing countries such as Ethiopia, where the prevalence of the human immune virus is high, the risk of human immune virus transmission to the baby is inevitable. Objective: This study’s objective is to evaluate fertility desire and associated factors among antiretroviral therapy users at South Gondar public hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022. Methods: A multicenter institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among patients attending antiretrio viral therapy at South Gondar Zone public hospitals, from April 1 to May 30, 2022. A total of 551 study participants were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a pretested, semi-structured questionnaire. The data were entered into Epi-Data version 4.6 and then exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the outcome variable, and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine the level of significance. Result: The study included 551 participants with a 100% response rate. The prevalence of fertility desire among antiretroviral therapy users in South Gondar Zone public hospitals was 42.5% (95% confidence interval: 38.6, 46.8). Independent predictors of fertility desire included being a merchant (adjusted odds ratio = 0.06; 95% confidence interval: 0.01, 0.08), being a farmer (adjusted odds ratio = 0.21; 95% confidence interval: 0.09, 0.47), having no children (adjusted odds ratio = 20.04; 95% confidence interval: 4.7, 24.2), disclosing HIV status (adjusted odds ratio = 0.05; 95% confidence interval: 0.01, 0.30), and being diagnosed with HIV (adjusted odds ratio = 15.5; 95% confidence interval: 12.79, 20.54). Conclusions: The prevalence of fertility desire among antiretroviral therapy users is found to be high. It is important to improve the existing Information, Education, and Communication interventions on fertility desire among antiretroviral therapy attendants at the individual and community levels.

Direct mosquito feedings on dengue-2 virus-infected people reveal dynamics of human infectiousness.

Dengue virus (DENV) transmission from humans to mosquitoes is a poorly documented, but critical component of DENV epidemiology. Magnitude of viremia is the primary determinant of successful human-to-mosquito DENV transmission. People with the same level of viremia, however, can vary in their infectiousness to mosquitoes as a function of other factors that remain to be elucidated. Here, we report on a field-based study in the city of Iquitos, Peru, where we conducted direct mosquito feedings on people naturally infected with DENV and that experienced mild illness. We also enrolled people naturally infected with Zika virus (ZIKV) after the introduction of ZIKV in Iquitos during the study period. Of the 54 study participants involved in direct mosquito feedings, 43 were infected with DENV-2, two with DENV-3, and nine with ZIKV. Our analysis excluded participants whose viremia was detectable at enrollment but undetectable at the time of mosquito feeding, which was the case for all participants with DENV-3 and ZIKV infections. We analyzed the probability of onward transmission during 50 feeding events involving 27 participants infected with DENV-2 based on the presence of infectious virus in mosquito saliva 7-16 days post blood meal. Transmission probability was positively associated with the level of viremia and duration of extrinsic incubation in the mosquito. In addition, transmission probability was influenced by the day of illness in a non-monotonic fashion; i.e., transmission probability increased until 2 days after symptom onset and decreased thereafter. We conclude that mildly ill DENV-infected humans with similar levels of viremia during the first two days after symptom onset will be most infectious to mosquitoes on the second day of their illness. Quantifying variation within and between people in their contribution to DENV transmission is essential to better understand the biological determinants of human infectiousness, parametrize epidemiological models, and improve disease surveillance and prevention strategies.

Human Rights of the HIV-Infected Persons in India: Issues and Concerns

Human rights are basic rights of human beings regardless of gender, religious identity and nationality. Human beings and their rights are constitutionally and legally protected. Though safeguards are there against human rights violations, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected people have to face several injustices in our society. People living with HIV are usually subjected to discrimination in the society even in the 21st century. Society’s attitude towards these people is that of stigma and discrimination. They are provided with the right to privacy according to the current human rights standards. However, the fact is that for the prevention of further spread of HIV, disclosure of HIV-positive status is imperative. Unless the society’s attitude towards HIV-infected persons changes, an HIV/AIDS-free world cannot be dreamt of.

Barriers and enablers to testing for hepatitis C virus infection in people who inject drugs – a scoping review of the qualitative evidence

BackgroundInjection drug use is the primary mode of transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the developed world and guidelines recommend screening individuals with current or history of injection drug use for HCV; however, the majority of those living with HCV in Canada are not aware of their positive status. This low level of HCV status awareness suggests that screening is not effective with current testing strategies. The aim of this review is to determine what barriers and enablers people who inject drugs (PWID) experience surrounding testing for HCV to help inform the development of an engaging testing strategy.MethodsComprehensive literature searches were conducted using Medline, Embase and CINAHL in February 2021. Included studies investigated the barriers and enablers to testing for HCV in PWID and the experiences of PWID in testing for HCV. Studies were included if they were qualitative or mixed-methods design, involved people with current injection drug use or those with a history of injecting drugs, and were written in the English language. Studies were compared and common themes were coded and analyzed.ResultsThe literature search resulted in 1554 citations and ultimately nine studies were included. Common barriers included self-perception of low risk for HCV, fear of diagnosis, stigma associated with IV drug use and HCV, antipathy in relation to mainstream health care services, limited knowledge about HCV, lack of rapport with provider, lack of motivation or competing priority of drug use, and limited awareness of new treatment options. Common enablers to testing included increasing awareness of HCV testing and treatment and providing positive narratives around HCV care, positive rapport with provider, accessible testing options and individualized care.ConclusionWhile there has been some qualitative research on barriers and enablers to testing for HCV in PWID more research is needed to focus on this research question as a primary objective in order to provide more understanding from the participant’s perspective.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Related Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Human immunodeficiency virus infection is related with an increased risk of hematological malignancy principally, non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Most non-Hodgkin lymphomas are acquired immunodeficiency syndrome defining and constitute greater than 50% of all acquired immunodeficiency syndrome defining cancers. The main pathogenesis mechanisms are immunodeficiency, chronic antigenic stimulation, and the ability to infect cancer cells causing direct carcinogenesis. Human immunodeficiency virus related non-Hodgkin lymphomas are heterogeneous in immunophenotyping and molecular features; and choice of drug treatments is similar with sporadic types. The main objective is to assess the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and morphology of human immunodeficiency virus related non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The searching strategy was done by searching relevant original and review articles from www.biosemanticjane/org, Google scholar, Google, and PubMed sites using keywords like; Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Human immunodeficiency virus, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In conclusion, human immunodeficiency virus infected people continue to have elevated risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas are the most common and severe subtype. The pathogenesis of this type of lymphoma is associated with chromosomal abnormalities that deregulate the expression of various oncogenes by different viral particles and cytokines. However, the role of these viral particles and cytokines on pathogenesis is not clearly stated, so further study could be required.

Spherical PEG/SiO2 promising agents for Lamivudine antiviral drug delivery, a molecular dynamics simulation study

Spherical nanocarriers can lead to a bright future to lessen problems of virus infected people. Spherical polyethylene glycol (PEG) and spherical silica (SiO2) are novel attractive nanocarriers as drug delivery agents, especially they are recently noticed to be reliable for antiviral drugs like anti-HIV, anti-covid-19, etc. Lamivudine (3TC) is used as a first line drug for antiviral therapy and the atomic view of 3TC-PEG/SiO2 complexes enable scientist to help improve treatment of patients with viral diseases. This study investigates the interactions of 3TC with Spherical PEG/SiO2, using molecular dynamics simulations. The mechanism of adsorption, the stability of systems and the drug concentration effect are evaluated by analyzing the root mean square deviation, the solvent accessible surface area, the radius of gyration, the number of hydrogen bonds, the radial distribution function, and Van der Waals energy. Analyzed data show that the compression of 3TC is less on PEG and so the stability is higher than SiO2; the position and intensity of the RDF peaks approve this stronger binding of 3TC to PEG as well. Our studies show that PEG and also SiO2 are suitable for loading high drug concentrations and maintaining their stability; therefore, spherical PEG/SiO2 can reduce drug dosage efficiently.

Knowledge, Concept on severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2). A Review of the Literature and Future perspective

Severe acute respiratory corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly recognized pathogen and may cause severe respiratory illness among virus-infected people. The virus in the open market of Wuhan city, China was identified. The virus causative agent for the COVID-19 disease and became pandemic in December 2019 to now with no proper disease management protocols. So, the authors felt a need to bring awareness to the disease and its causative agent among worldwide.The current review article is trying to bringglance information on SARS-CoV-2 on various aspects of disease condition as Common characteristics, history, and mode of transmissions of the virus. The virus can be detected through investigations, Identified clinical manifestations for the virus, and available management used to treat the virus-infected patient. Here discussed possible preventive measures for SARS-CoV-2;to control the spread of the disease among the communities. This article information maybea help people to have an awareness of the disease.Health professional are trying hard for providing effective care to the virus affected people with minimal disease preventive protocols. People should understand the effectiveness of the vaccine and undergoing vaccination process which helps the spread of virus among the healthy people. Every individual should take initiation for the control of the disease spreads by following controlling measures.

604. Effect of rifabutin in dolutegravir dosing: a case series

Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected people worldwide. Patients with HIV who have latent TB are 20-30 times more likely to develop active TB. Integrated antiretroviral therapy (ART) early in the treatment for tuberculosis is recommended due to improved morbidity and mortality, however, there can be serious drug interactions. Rifamycins are potent inducers of the CYP3A4 isoform, which can cause sub-therapeutic concentrations of anti-retroviral drugs, among these, rifabutin (RBN) is a less potent inducer of CYP3A4. Pharmacokinetic (PK) studies done on healthy adults showed that rifampin decreased dolutegravir (DTG) concentrations by more than 50 % whereas RBN decreased it by 30%. RBN has been preferred given that its favorable pharmacokinetic and toxicity profile. Currently there are no studies examining the use of RBN and DTG in co-infected persons. This is a case series of 4 co-infected patients receiving both agents who underwent PK analysis. Methods Retrospective analysis of patients in the respiratory care unit (RCU) at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. We included adult patients, admitted to the RCU, with a concomitant diagnosis of HIV and active TB disease who received DTG and RBN, and for which DTG and RBN plasma concentrations were measured for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). A non-compartmental analysis was performed and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was calculated for DTG and RBN. Results We report 4 patients (Figure 1) that met criteria and underwent PK analysis. All patients with TB who were treated with RBN had low concentrations of DTG, requiring higher doses of DTG (Table 1 & 2). After adjustments based on PK analysis, there was evidence of a favorable response to treatment in 2 patients, with a less than robust in the 2 others. Adequate suppression of viral load could not be determined for 3 of the patients because of the short observation time. Figure 1:Timelines of patients describing admission and HIV and tuberculosis treatment providedDTG, dolutegravir. RFB, rifabutin. VL, viral load. AFB, Acid fast bacilli. LAD, lymphadenopathy. TAF, Tenofovir alafenamide. FTC, Emtricitabine. TDF, Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate. INH, Isoniazid. PYZ, Pyrazinamide. BID, twice a day. QD, daily. IRIS, Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. GU, genitourinary. TB, tuberculosis.Table 1:Patients’ pharmacokinetics of DTGAUCX-Y, area under the concentration-time curve from time X to Y hours; AUC0-tau, area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to the end of the dosing interval; DTG, dolutegravir; TDM, therapeutic drug monitoring. a) AUC0-6 was calculated.Table 2:Patients’ pharmacokinetics of RBNAUCX-Y, area under the concentration-time curve from time X to Y hours; AUC0-tau, area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to the end of the dosing interval; RBN, Rifabutin; TDM, therapeutic drug monitoring. a) All RBN doses given every 24 hours, b) RBN value was trace and AUC was not calculated. Conclusion All patients with HIV and TB who were treated with RBN had low concentrations of DTG. This case series demonstrates that for optimal concomitant use of rifabutin and dolutegravir it is highly recommended to use TDM. Prospective clinical studies are needed to further determine the PK interactions between RBN and DTG and virologic response to treatment. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.

Estimates of prevalence, time-trend, and association of smoking in adults living with HIV, HBV, and HCV (NHANES 1999–2018)

Although the smoking rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected people was much higher than that of the general population, smoking cessation interventions have long been ineffective. We aimed to examine the estimates of prevalence, time-trend, and association of smoking among people living with HIV, HBV, or HCV. This cohort was composed of 32,115 individuals from the NHANES database (1999–2018) and they were collected in the US. The time trend analysis of smoking and quitting rates was conducted using different years of survey follow-up and different infected groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors related to smoking behavior of these infected people. Compared to non-infected smokers, infected smokers were more likely to be older (aged 30–39, OR = 9.92, CI 6.07–16.21; aged 40–49,OR = 3.51, CI 2.49–4.94), males (1.99, 1.54–2.55), lower education and economic level (1.78, 1.39–2.29; 2.05, 1.59–2.65), unemployed (1.63, 1.21–2.20), suffering depression (1.35, 1.05–1.72), and drug users (7.65, 5.04–11.59). Taken together, our study showed that these complex psychosocial characteristics and unhealthy behavioral factors might be major independent risk factors for increasing smoking rate and decreasing smoking cessation rate among these infected people.

Liver-related complications before and after successful treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in people with inherited bleeding disorders.

With availability of direct-acting antivirals (DAA), most persons with inherited bleeding disorders are currently cured of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The risk of liver-related complications following HCV cure has not been reported for this population. Reporting liver-related complications during long-term chronic HCV infection and following sustained virological response (SVR) in this population. Retrospective follow-up of a prospective single-centre cohort of HCV antibody-positive persons with inherited bleeding disorders. Primary endpoint was liver-related complications [hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), decompensated cirrhosis, bleeding gastroesophageal varices]. Liver-related complications were reported separately during chronic HCV and following SVR, stratified for interferon-based and DAA-based SVR. In total 309/381 (81%) HCV antibody-positive individuals developed chronic HCV infection. Median follow-up was 44years [interquartile range (IQR): 34-50]. Liver-related complications occurred in 36/309 (12%) of individuals with chronic HCV infection after median 31 years of chronic infection. Of 199 individuals with SVR, 97 were cured with interferon-based regimens and 102 with DAA after median infection durations of 29 and 45years, respectively. At end of follow-up, respectively, 21% and 42% had advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Post-SVR, seven (4%) individuals had a liver-related complication, mainly HCC (n=4). Incidence of liver-related complications per 100 patient-years post-SVR follow-up was .2 for interferon-cured and 1.0 for DAA-cured individuals (p=.01). Successful HCV treatment does not eliminate the risk of liver-related complications in persons with inherited bleeding disorders. Due to higher baseline risk, incidence was higher after DAA than interferon-based SVR. We advise continuing HCC surveillance post-SVR in all with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis.

A privacy-preserving blockchain-based tracing model for virus-infected people in cloud

The outbreak of COVID-19 has exposed the privacy of positive patients to the public, which will lead to violations of users’ rights and even threaten their lives. A privacy-preserving scheme involving virus-infected positive patients is proposed by us. The traditional ciphertext policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE) has the features of enhanced plaintext security and fine-grained access control. However, the encryption process requires the high computational performance of the device, which puts a high strain on resource-limited devices. After semi-honest users successfully decrypt the data, they will get the real private data, which will cause serious privacy leakage problems. Traditional cloud-based data management architectures are extremely vulnerable in the face of various cyberattacks. To address the above challenges, a verifiable ABE scheme based on blockchain and local differential privacy is proposed, using LDP to perturb the original data locally to a certain extent to resist collusion attacks, outsourcing encryption and decryption to corresponding service providers to reduce the pressure on mobile terminals, and deploying smart contracts in combination with blockchain for fair execution by all parties to solve the problem of returning wrong search results in a semi-honest cloud server. Detailed security proofs are performed through the defined security goals, which shows that the proposed scheme is indeed privacy-protective. The experimental results show that the scheme is optimized in terms of data accuracy, computational overhead, storage performance, and fairness. In terms of efficiency, it greatly reduces the local load, enhances personal privacy protection, and has high practicality as well as reliability. As far as we know, it is the first case of applying the combination of LDP technology and blockchain to a tracing system, which not only mitigates poisoning attacks on user data, but also improves the accuracy of the data, thus making it easier to identify infected contacts and making a useful contribution to health prevention and control efforts.

HIV/AIDS Associated Lymphoma: Review.

Lymphoma is one of the hematologic malignancies that occur at a higher rate in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals. It is one of the most frequent neoplastic causes of death in those individuals. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphomas are acquired immunodeficiency syndrome defining lymphoma and non-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome defining lymphoma, respectively. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is the most common type of lymphoma in human immunodeficiency virus-positive people. The lymphoma that develops in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is heterogeneous in terms of morphology, pathogenesis pathways, and cellular derivation. A narrative review was conducted on the basis of relevant literature on the current topic to summarize the current epidemiology, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of lymphoma in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. The finding showed that although the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has decreased after the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy, it has remained higher in human immunodeficiency virus-infected people than in the general population. On the other hand, the incidence of Hodgkin’s lymphoma has increased after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Therefore, it is recommended that people living with human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome be screened for the development of lymphoma to increase their survival time and quality of life, and further research is required regarding the pathogenesis, treatment, and laboratory diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated lymphoma.

Treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in people with opioid use disorder: a real-world study of elbasvir/grazoprevir in a US Department of Veterans Affairs population

ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in the United States have increased in recent years, with the most rapid rise among people who inject drugs (PWIDs). Historically, there have been concerns regarding treatment adherence among PWIDs with HCV infection, leading to undertreatment of this population and increased HCV transmission. Elbasvir (EBR)/grazoprevir (GZR) has demonstrated high rates of virologic cure (sustained virologic response [SVR]) in clinical trials enrolling PWIDs with HCV infection. Objective:To evaluate the real-world effectiveness of EBR/GZR in HCV genotype (GT) 1–infected patients with a diagnosis of opioid use disorder. Methods:A retrospective analysis of electronic medical records from the US Department of Veterans Affairs Corporate Data Warehouse. Adults with chronic HCV GT1 infection, ≥1 prescription for EBR/GZR, and ≥1 clinic visit were included. All patients had ≥1 ICD-9/10 code of opioid use disorder. SVR was the primary outcome. Results: 419 patients were included; 97.1% had a history of any illicit drug use and 40.8% were receiving medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). SVR was achieved by 96.9% (406/419) of all patients, 97.0% (350/361) of those receiving EBR/GZR for 12 weeks, and 95.3% (163/171) of those receiving MOUD. SVR in patients receiving psychiatric medications ranged from 96.1% (221/230) in those taking antidepressant medications to 98.5% (128/130) in those taking mood stabilizers. Conclusion:In this real-world setting, high rates of virologic cure were achieved in patients with HCV GT1 infection on MOUD receiving EBR/GZR for 12 weeks, including patients with multiple comorbidities and high rate of psychiatric medication use.

Delayed diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus infection in people diagnosed with syphilis: A nationwide cohort study from 2011 to 2018 in Japan

Early treatment of HIV infection depends on timely diagnosis, but many persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are unaware of their infection. Though many patients seeking medical attention for sexually transmitted diseases have HIV, many patients’ HIV co-infection is undiagnosed in Japan. This is the first report to analyze the timing of syphilis infection in PLWHA of all ages through the use of the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB), containing clinical data of the largest group of HIV-positive patients available in Japan. Overall, 1521 PLWHA (male 93.2%) newly diagnosed and started on antiretroviral therapy were identified in 2016, and 646 (42.5%) patients had a diagnosis of syphilis between 2011 and 2018. Although 100 patients were diagnosed with syphilis before their HIV diagnosis, only 17 (17.0%) had been tested for HIV. Over 50 patients per year became infected with syphilis even after their HIV diagnosis (2017, n = 65 (4.3%); 2018, n = 58 (3.8%)). Although early diagnosis of HIV infection is important, most syphilis patients in Japan had not been properly tested for HIV infection. Since a certain number of HIV patients developed syphilis after HIV diagnosis, education for newly diagnosed HIV patients is important.

Changes in Health-related Quality of Life for Hepatitis C Virus-Infected People Who Inject Drugs While on Opioid Agonist Treatment Following Sustained Virologic Response.

Although efforts to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) in people who inject drugs (PWID) yield high rates of sustained virologic response (SVR), the relationship between successful HCV treatment and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among PWID is poorly understood. We examined HRQOL changes throughout HCV treatment and post-treatment for PWID achieving SVR. Participants included 141 PWID who achieved SVR following HCV treatment onsite at 3 opioid agonist treatment (OAT) clinics in the Bronx, New York. EQ-5D-3L assesses 5 health dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression), producing an index of HRQOL ranging from 0 to 1. EQ-5D-3L was measured at baseline; 4, 8, and 12 weeks during treatment; and 12 and 24 weeks post-treatment. Linear mixed effects regression models assessed changes in the mean EQ-5D-3L index over time. Mean EQ-5D-3L index baseline was 0.66 (standard error [SE] = 0.02). While over half the population reported no baseline problems with self-care (85.1%), usual activities (56.0%), and mobility (52.5%), at least two-thirds reported problems with pain/discomfort (78.0%) and anxiety/depression (66.0%). Twenty-four weeks post-treatment, proportions reporting pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression decreased by 25.7% and 24.0%, respectively. Mean EQ-5D-3L index significantly improved during treatment (P < .0001), and improvement was sustained following treatment completion, with mean EQ-5D-3L index of 0.77 (SE = 0.02) 12 weeks post-SVR. HCV treatment led to sustained improvement in HRQOL for PWID on OAT who achieved SVR. Future research is necessary to determine whether improvements in HRQOL can be sustained beyond 12 weeks post-SVR.

Viral hepatitis: Milestones, unresolved issues, and future goals.

In this review the current overall knowledge on hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E will be discussed. These diseases are all characterized by liver inflammation but have significant differences in distribution, transmission routes, and outcomes. Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus are transmitted by exposure to infected blood, and in addition to acute infection, they can cause chronic hepatitis, which in turn can evolve into cirrhosis. It is estimated that more than 300 million people suffer from chronic hepatitis B or C worldwide. Hepatitis D virus, which is also transmitted by blood, only affects hepatitis B virus infected people, and this dual infection results in worse liver-related outcomes. Hepatitis A and E spread via the fecal–oral route, which corresponds mainly to the ingestion of food or water contaminated with infected stools. However, in developed countries hepatitis E is predominantly a zoonosis. Although hepatitis A virus and hepatitis E virus are usually responsible for a self-limiting hepatitis, a serious, rarely fatal illness is also possible, and in immunosuppressed patients, such as organ transplant recipients, hepatitis E virus infection can become chronic. The description of goals achieved, unresolved issues, and the latest research on this topic may make it possible to speculate on future scenarios in the world of viral hepatitis.

Epigenetic Mechanisms Involved in HCV-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, which is largely caused by virus infection. About 80% of the virus-infected people develop a chronic infection that eventually leads to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). With approximately 71 million HCV chronic infected patients worldwide, they still have a high risk of HCC in the near future. However, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis in chronic HCV infection have not been still fully understood, which involve a complex epigenetic regulation and cellular signaling pathways. Here, we summarize 18 specific gene targets and different signaling pathways involved in recent findings. With these epigenetic alterations requiring histone modifications and DNA hyper or hypo-methylation of these specific genes, the dysregulation of gene expression is also associated with different signaling pathways for the HCV life cycle and HCC. These findings provide a novel insight into a correlation between HCV infection and HCC tumorigenesis, as well as potentially preventable approaches. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection largely causes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide with 3 to 4 million newly infected cases diagnosed each year. It is urgent to explore its underlying molecular mechanisms for therapeutic treatment and biomarker discovery. However, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis in chronic HCV infection have not been still fully understood, which involve a complex epigenetic regulation and cellular signaling pathways. Here, we summarize 18 specific gene targets and different signaling pathways involved in recent findings. With these epigenetic alterations requiring histone modifications and DNA hyper or hypo-methylation of these specific genes, the dysregulation of gene expression is also associated with different signaling pathways for the HCV life cycle and HCC. These findings provide a novel insight into a correlation between HCV infection and HCC tumorigenesis, as well as potentially preventable approaches.

Medical remotely caring with COVID-19 virus infected people using optimized wireless arm tracing system

A human arm makes many functions that a robotic arm always programmed to make same functions. The human limbs motion can be captured using sensors that they will always copy hand movement. The rapid spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) virus and contacting the infections make the number of patients doubled in short time. The system proposed in this research can protect clinicians against infection with virus by reducing the contact with the infected and treat them remotely. This system type can be useful in different other fields of industrial works and defense where dangerous and delicate task can be done remotely without actual touch. Xbee shield is used to allow a hand glove flex sensor to communicate with the robotic arm using Zigbee wirelessly. Zigbee here is based on Xbee module from Max stream that can be communicate outdoor for 300 feet with the line of sight and indoor for 100 feet. Proportional, integral and derivative (PID) controller used in the proposed system to achieve smooth movement of limbs. The desired signal comes from flex sensor that connected to each limb. Kalman estimator proposed to find current state of each limb. In order to get better performance, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used.

Diagnostic value of non-invasive model for hepatic steatosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus

Objective: Hepatic steatosis has a high incidence in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected people, and there is no effective non-invasive method to evaluate it. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of non-invasive models for hepatic steatosis in this population. Methods: A single-center retrospective study was applied to evaluate: (1) the diagnostic value of controlled attenuation parameters (CAP) and hepatic steatosis index (HSI) in HIV-infected patients with hepatic steatosis; (2) the ability of the non-invasive model to distinguish hepatic steatosis caused by abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism and hepatic steatosis caused by hepatitis C virus infection; (3) the diagnostic value of the above models for hepatic steatosis in patients co-infected with HIV/hepatitis C virus. The diagnostic value of the model was analyzed and evaluated by diagnostic test and receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: (1) the diagnostic value of hepatic steatosis for HIV-infected patients: when CAP = 232 dB/m, the sensitivity and specificity were 89.2% and 78.1%, respectively; when HSI = 34, the sensitivity and specificity were 79.1% and 83.2%, respectively. (2) The ability to identify the causes of hepatic steatosis in HIV-infected patients: when CAP = 258dB/m, the sensitivity and specificity were 81.5% and 88.2%, respectively; when HSI = 37, the sensitivity and specificity were 70.7% and 92.4%, respectively. (3) The diagnostic value of hepatic steatosis in patients co-infected with HIV/hepatitis C virus: when CAP = 241 dB/m, the sensitivity and specificity were 80% and 71.4%, respectively; when HSI = 32, the sensitivity and specificity were 73% and 68.9%, respectively. Conclusion: CAP and HSI have superior diagnostic value for hepatic steatosis in patients infected with HIV.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and syphilis among human immunodeficiency virus-infected people at a university hospital, Turkey

IntroductionInfections such as viral hepatitis and syphilis that share similar transmission routes with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may adversely affect the course of the disease. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of viral hepatitis and syphilis among HIV-infected people at the initial stage of diagnosis.Material and methodsThe medical records of 336 HIV-infected people aged 18 years and older, who were followed up between 2005 and 2018 at a university hospital in Samsun, Turkey, were evaluated retrospectively in terms of initial serological markers for viral hepatitis and syphilis.ResultsHepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was positive in 13 (4.2%) of 303 patients, antibody to HBs antigen (anti-HBs) in 117 (39.2%) of 298 patients, antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) in 3 (0.9%) of 301 patients, total antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc total) in 70 (29.2%) of 239 patients and total antibody to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV total) in 224 (84.5%) of 265 patients. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was detected in one (12.5%) of eight patients with isolated anti-HBc. Of 224 patients who were examined for syphilis, 34 (15.1%) were positive for Treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA).ConclusionsIn our study, high seroprevalence of syphilis and low immunity to HBV were detected. Health care facilities that follow up HIV-infected people should determine the serological profiles initially once the patients are diagnosed. It should be kept in mind that due to behavioral risk factors among HIV-infected people prevalence of coinfections may be higher than the rate in the community.