Short report: elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase and hepatitis A in the context of a pediatric malaria vaccine trial in a village in Mali.
A Phase 1 study of the apical membrane antigen malaria vaccine AMA1-C1/Alhydrogel was conducted in 2-3-year-old children in a village in Mali. A high frequency of elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) caused by hepatitis A was seen, with 8 of 36 children diagnosed by specific IgM antibody over the course of the study. Hepatitis A is a common cause of asymptomatic elevations of ALT levels in children, particularly in less-developed settings. Investigators should be aware of the frequency of hepatitis A in this age group to guard against inadvertently facilitating transmission at study facilities and to properly evaluate symptomatic or asymptomatic elevations of ALT levels.
Ellis
Ruth D
RD
Malaria Vaccine Development Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA. ellisru@niaid.nih.gov
Dicko
Alassane
A
Sagara
Issaka
I
Kamate
Beh
B
Guindo
Ousmane
O
Niambele
Mohamed Balla
MB
Sogoba
Moussa
M
Doumbo
Ogobara
O
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D008302:Mali / Q000453:epidemiology
D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D000410:Alanine Transaminase