High Frequency of HBeAg-Negative Cases in Naive HBsAg-Positive Subjects with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection Managed in the Yaoundé Hepatitis Therapeutic Committee: A Cross Sectional Study

The aim was to describe the epidemiology of the chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection within Yaoundé Hepatitis Therapeutic Committee. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study from June 2004 to May 2012. We consecutively collected epidemiological data (gender, age, alanine aminotransferase-ALT, HBe-antigen-HBeAg, hepatitis B viral load-HBV-DNA and cirrhosis evaluation) from naive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patients with chronic HBV infection. Chronic HBV infection is defined by the persistence of HBsAg for at least six months. The level of serum HBV-DNA was determined by the COBAS-AmpliPrep Technical/COBAS-TaqMan HBV® 2.0 (Roche). Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS 20.0 software (IBM Corporation, USA). Results: Of the 315 HBsAg-positive patients consulted, 74.6% were male; mean (SD) age 35.04 (10.25) years. Nearly 92% were HBeAg-negative. The serum ALT level was normal in 63.2%; HBV-DNA was detected in 81.0% and was ≤2000 IU/mL in 65.9%. Liver biopsy was performed in 145 (46.03%); 10 (6.9%) had cirrhosis. HBeAg-negative patients were older than HBeAg-positive (35.3 vs. 31.9 years; p = 0.006). The serum ALT level was high in 84.0% HBeAg-positive patients and in 32.8% HBeAg-negative (p < 0.0001). HBV-DNA was detected in 100% of HBeAg-positive patients against 79.7% of HBeAg-negative (p = 0.05). The median HBV-DNA level was 1550 × 103 IU/mL in HBeAg-positive patients and 1140 IU/mL in HBeAg-negative (p < 0.0001). Cirrhosis was diagnosed in 15.4% of HBeAg-positive patients and in 6.1% of HBeAg-negative (p = 0.221). Conclusion: HBeAg-negative cases are predominant among HBsAg-positive patients with chronic HBV infection in Cameroon. With the knowledge of this epidemiology, the care of patients will be improved.