Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis in Pregnant Women in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

The prevalence of viral hepatitis in pregnant women in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (RS(Y)) for 2007-2016 is presented in this article

Chronic Triple Infection with Hepatitis B, C, and D Viruses in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

The purpose of this work was to study the features of the clinical course of mixed infections with hepatitis B+C+D viruses in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (RS(Y)). Materials and Methods: The incidences of these infections were studied in the infectious disease department of the Yakutsk City Clinical Hospital. A total of 74 patients with chronic infection with hepatitis B, C, and D viruses were analyzed. The following markers of HBV (HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBcIgG, HBV DNA), HCV (anti-HCV) and HDV (anti-HDV, HDV RNA) were detected. According to PCR (n=35), HCV-RNA was detected in 29(82.8%) patients. In 65.8% of cases, HCV-RNA replication was observed in the absence of HDV-DNA. Mono-replication of HBV (HBV-DNA+, HCV-RNA-) was detected in 17.1% patients, mono-replication of HCV (HBV-DNA-, HCV-RNA+) in 65.7% patients and mixed replication of viruses C, D and/or G (HBV-DNA-, HCV-RNA+, HDV-RNA+/HGV-RNA+) in 17.1% patients. Results: The comparison of biochemical parameters of patients with chronic mixed hepatitis showed that more expressed changes are observed with the mixed replication than with the mono-replicative form of hepatitis

Coverage with timely administered vaccination against hepatitis b virus and its influence on the prevalence of HBV infection in the regions of different endemicity

Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by grant of the Russian Science Foundation (ID-20-15-00148). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Universal hepatitis B vaccination of newborns was implemented in Russia starting from 1998. From 1998 to 2019, the incidence of acute hepatitis B reduced from 43.8 to 0.57 cases per 100,000 population. Here, we assessed the timely coverage of newborns with the birth dose (HepB-BD), second dose (HepB-2nd), and three vaccine doses (HepB3) in two remote regions of Russia with low (Belgorod Oblast) and high (Yakutia) levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV) endemicity. Vaccination data were obtained from the medical records of 1000 children in Yakutia and 2182 children in Belgorod Oblast. Sera of healthy volunteers from Belgorod Oblast (n = 1754) and Yakutia (n = 1072) across all age groups were tested for serological markers of HBV to assess the infection prevalence and herd immunity. Average HepB-BD coverage was 99.2% in Yakutia and 89.4% in Belgorod Oblast (p < 0.0001) and in both regions varied significantly, from 66% to 100%, between medical centers. The principal reason for the absence of HepB-BD was parent refusal, which accounted for 63.5% of cases of non-vaccination (83/123). While timely HepB-2nd coverage was only 55.4%–64.7%: HepB3 coverage by the age of one year exceeded 90% in both study regions. HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence in the 1998–2019 birth cohort was 0.2% (95% CI: 0.01–1.3%) in Belgorod Oblast and 3.2% (95% CI: 1.9–5.2%) in Yakutia. The proportion of persons testing negative for both antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs) and antibodies to HBV core antigen (anti-HBc) in the 1998–2019 birth cohort was 26.2% (125/481) in Belgorod Oblast and 32.3% (162/501) in Yakutia. We also assessed the knowledge of and attitude towards vaccination among 782 students and teachers of both medical and non-medical specialties from Belgorod State University. Only 60% of medical students knew that hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable disease. Both medical and nonmedical students, 37.8% and 31.3%, respectively, expressed concerns about safety and actual necessity of vaccination. These data indicate the need to introduce a vaccine delivery audit system, improve medical education with respect to vaccination strategies and policies, and reinforce public knowledge on the benefits of vaccination.Peer reviewe

Epidemiologic Aspects of Syphilis among Pregnant Women in Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the syphilis morbidity rate in pregnant women in Yakutia. Syphilis morbidity in Yakutia in 2014-2016 did not have a sustainable trend toward decreasing in comparison with the Russian Federation mean indicators

Post-Vaccination and Post-Infection Immunity to the Hepatitis B Virus and Circulation of Immune-Escape Variants in the Russian Federation 20 Years after the Start of Mass Vaccination

A neonatal vaccination against the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was initiated in Russia 20 years ago, with catch-up immunization for adolescents and adults under the age of 60 years launched in 2006. Here, we have assessed the humoral immunity to HBV in different regions of Russia, as well as the infection frequency following 20 years of a nationwide vaccination campaign. We have also evaluated the role of immune-escape variants in continuing HBV circulation. A total of 36,149 healthy volunteers from nine regions spanning the Russian Federation from west to east were tested for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to HBV capsid protein (anti-HBc), and antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs). HBV sequences from 481 chronic Hepatitis B patients collected from 2018–2022 were analyzed for HBsAg immune-escape variants, compared with 205 sequences obtained prior to 2010. Overall, the HBsAg detection rate was 0.8%, with this level significantly exceeded only in one study region, the Republic of Dagestan (2.4%, p p > 0.05). The population dynamics of immune-escape variants predicted by Bayesian analysis have remained stable over the last 20 years, indicating the absence of vaccine-driven positive selection. In contrast, the wild-type HBV population size experienced a rapid decrease starting in the mid-1990s, following the introduction of mass immunization, but it subsequently began to recover, reaching pre-vaccination levels by 2020. Taken together, these data indicate that it is gaps in vaccination, and not virus evolution, that may be responsible for the continued virus circulation despite 20 years of mass vaccination