Short Report: Hepatitis B Infection and Severe Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria in Vietnamese Adults

Authors

Mazie J. Barcus, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit #2
Tran T. Hien, Cho Quan Hospital
Nicholas J. White, Mahidol University
Kanti Laras, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit #2
Jeremy Farrar, Cho Quan Hospital
Ira K. Schwartz, Emory University
Andrew Corwin, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit #2
J. Kevin Baird, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit #2Follow

Date of this Version

2002

Citation

Published in Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. (2002) 66(2), pp. 140–142

Abstract

We investigated the prevalence of infection with hepatitis B virus among adult Vietnamese patients hospitalized for severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Sera from patients admitted with severe malaria in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, between May 1991 and January 1996 were assayed for hepatitis B surface antigen (HB_sAg) by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The overall prevalence of HB_sAg was 23.77% (77 of 324). This was higher than reported estimates of prevalence in the general catchment population for the study hospital (mean, 9.8%; range, 9–16%). No association was found between risk of death caused by severe malaria and HB_sAg. Patients admitted with cerebral malaria had a slightly greater risk of registering positive for HB_sAg (relative risk, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.04–1.58) relative to other manifestations of severe malaria. Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus may be a risk factor for severe malaria.