ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Changes in immunological response have been reported during HBV infections, and these changes can be markers for the diagnosis and prediction of the outcome of infection The aim of this study was to measure and correlate serum levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), C-reactive protein (CRP) Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and HBV antigens and antibodies in a sample of patients with HBV infection and in healthy controls. METHODOS: The study population consisted of 26 patients with hepatitis B infection (HBsAg seropositive), and 26 apparently healthy (HBsAg seronegative) participants as controls. Biochemical markers of liver disease were evaluated by routine methods. Hepatitis B antigens (HBVsAg, HBeAg) and antibodies (HBsAb, HBeAb, HBcAb) were determined using immunochromatographic method. Serum concentrations of IL-2, and CRP were determined using ELISA method. RESULTS: IL-2 level in HBsAg seropositive patients was found to be lower than that of control with no statistical significance while CRP level in HBV positive patients was higher than that of control with no statistical significance. HBV patients showed statistically significant difference in AST and ALT levels, compared to healthy controls. A statistically significant value was also observed between IL-2 and CRP in HBV infected individuals. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that deranged ALT and AST values correlate with HBV infection and may be a potential tool for disease diagnosis and progression.
ABSTRACT
Enteroviruses is one of the most common group of human pathogens, causing a wide range of acute symptoms involving the cardiac and skeletal muscles, central nervous system, pancreas,skin and mucous membranes. In spite of the success recorded in polio eradication globally, infections with other enteroviruses remain frequent and sometimes very serious, requiring hospitalization. In this study we determined the various circulating serotypes of non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) with a view to providing information on the activity of these viruses among the Nigerian children, who usually are the most affected. Stool samples were obtained from hospitalized children at two major secondary community hospitals in Ibadan and acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases from 26 states ofNigeria. A presumptive identification of NPEVs was based on growth in RD cells. Isolates were identified by neutralization assay using sera obtained from the Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands. The problems associated with this assay prompted the use of genotypic method developed at the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, USA for the final identification of isolates. Neutralization assay identified the 138 isolates into echoviruses (43.5%), coxsackie B viruses (29.7%) and untypeable isolates (26.8%). Finally genotyping identified echoviruses (E3, E6, E7, E11, E12, E13, E14, E19, E20, E21, E24, E29, E30, E33), coxsackieviruses (CVA3, CVA4, CVA6, CVA17, CVB3, CVB5, CVB6) and enteroviruses (EV69, EV71). The causal association of isolates with different diseases was also established. Majority of the isolates belonged to the human enterovirus gropup B (HEV-B) specie, followed by 4 and 1 in the HEV-A and HEV-C species respectively. This study forms the basis of molecular epidemiology of NPEVs being established for the first time in Nigeria. The implication of the presence of neurotropic serotypes (E3, E6, E7, E11, E14, E20, E24, E29, E30, EV71, CVB3 and CVB5) is that AFP may still be prevalent following polio eradication.
