Table 1

a. Changes in HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA prevalence with time in carriers detected between 1–4 years of age


Years after recruitment

Serological markers
0
5
9
19

HBsAg sero positivity (%)
68/68* (100)
42/60 (70.0%)
33/47 (70.2%)
37/53 (70.0%)
HBeAg seropositivity (%)
57/68* (83.8%)
25/42 (59.5%)
12/33 (36.3%)
5/53 (13.6%)
HBV DNA positive
62/62* (100%)
15/24 (62.5%)
20/39 (60.6%)
30/34 (88.2%)

b)




HBeAg positive carriers


0
5
9
19

Those with detectable HBV DNA
46/46 (100%)
9/9 (100%)
6/7 (85.7%)
5/5 (100%)
Those with viral load > 105 copies/mL)
46/46 (100%)
9/9 (100%)
6/7 (85.7%)
5/5 (100%)
Geometric Mean HBV DNA (copies/mL)
4.5 × 108
1.1 × 108
4.4 × 108
8.4 × 108
Median HBV DNA (copies/mL)
1.0×109
3.5×108
1.5×109
5.0×108
IQR (copies/mL)
5.0 × 108–2.0 × 09
5.0 × 107–6.5 × 108
5.5 × 108–6.5 × 109
4.0 × 108–2.5 × 109

c)




HBeAg negative carriers


0
5
9
19

Those with detectable HBV DNA
11/11 (100%)
2/7 (28.6%)
10/14 (71.4%)
28/31 (90.3%)
Those with high viral load (> 105 DNA copies/mL)
2/11 (18.2%)
1/7 (14.2%)
1/14 (7.1%)
3/31 (9.6%)
Geometric mean HBV DNA (copies/mL)
7.7 × 107
2.1 × 108
1.8 × 103
4.2 × 103
Median HBV DNA IQR (copies/mL)
2.0 × 104
2.0 × 105
2.0 × 103
1.0 × 103
IQR (copies/mL)
5.0 × 103–8.0 × 104
**3.6 × 104–5.2 × 108
1.0 × 103–1.0 × 104
4.0x × 102-7.5 × 103

*The p-values for difference in prevalence between the first two time points are < 0.006 for HBsAg, < 0.001 for HBeAg and HBV DNA respectively.**One carrier who is HBeAg negative had high serum DNA level (5.2 × 108) at the second follow up point.

Mendy et al. Virology Journal 2008 5:49   doi:10.1186/1743-422X-5-49