Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2021 Aug 25;11(1):17063.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-96350-3.

A novel model of care for simplified testing of HBV in African communities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

Camila A Picchio  1 , Daniel K Nomah  2 , Silvia G Araujo  3 , Ariadna Rando-Segura  4 , Emma Fernández  3 , Maria Buti  5   6 , Sergio Rodríguez-Tajes  5   7 , Sabela Lens  5   7 , Francisco Rodríguez-Frías  4   5 , Jeffrey V Lazarus  3
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

A novel model of care for simplified testing of HBV in African communities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

Camila A Picchio et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health threat for migrant populations in Spain and efforts to scale up testing are needed to reach the WHO elimination targets. The Hepatitis B Virus Community Screening and Vaccination in Africans (HBV-COMSAVA) study aims to use point-of-care testing and simplified diagnostic tools to identify, link to care, or vaccinate African migrants in Barcelona during the COVID-19 pandemic. From 21/11/20 to 03/07/2021, 314 study participants were offered HBV screening in a community clinic. Rapid tests for HBsAg screening were used and blood samples were collected with plasma separation cards. Patients received results and were offered: linkage to specialist care; post-test counselling; or HBV vaccination in situ. Sociodemographic and clinical history were collected and descriptive statistics were utilized. 274 patients were included and 210 (76.6%) returned to receive results. The HBsAg prevalence was 9.9% and 33.2% of people had evidence of past resolved infection. Overall, 133 required vaccination, followed by post-test counselling (n = 114), and linkage to a specialist (n = 27). Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, by employing a community-based model of care utilizing novel simplified diagnostic tools, HBV-COMSAVA demonstrated that it was possible to diagnose, link to care, and vaccinate African migrants in community-based settings.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CAP, DKN, SGA, ARS, EF and FRF have nothing to declare. MB reports advisory fees from Janssen and Gilead Sciences and grants from Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work. SR reports speaker fees from Gilead Sciences and Abbvie, outside the submitted work. SL reports speaker/advisory fees from Gilead Sciences and Abbvie and grants from Gilead Sciences, outside the submitted work. JVL reports grants, personal fees and other from AbbVie and Gilead Sciences, personal fees from CEPHEID, GSK, Intercept and Janssen, and grants and personal fees from MSD, outside the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of participants in the HBV-COMSAVA study and overall linkage to care proportions. *Fourteen participants reported being previously vaccinated and were anti-HBc positive. ^16 accepted the direct referral to one of the two hospitals linked to the project, of which 12 had a documented first visit with a specialist. Eight participants preferred visiting their own physicians (not the hospitals included in the study) due to distance and transportation issues, of which one had a documented first visit. HBsAg Hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-HBc antibody against hepatitis B virus core antigen, HBV hepatitis B virus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Hepatitis B in the WHO European Region. Fact sheet. July 2017.
    1. World Health Organization. Guidelines for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection. WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. 2015. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Global Hepatitis Report 2017. World Health Organization; 2017.
    1. Cooke SG, et al. Accelerating the elimination of viral hepatitis: A Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology Commission. Lancet Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2019;4:135–184. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(18)30270-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lemoine M, Eholié S, Lacombe K. Reducing the neglected burden of viral hepatitis in Africa: Strategies for a global approach. J. Hepatol. 2015;62:469–476. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2014.10.008. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances