Metagenomic Profiling and Plasma Virome Analysis across Clinical Cohorts of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B and D, Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Nigeria
Chronic hepatitis B infection is one of the leading causes of hepatocellular carcinoma in sub-saharan African while co-infection with Hepatitis D virus causes the most severe form of viral hepatitis ever known to man. The plasma virome of patients with HBV mono- and HBV/HDV co-infection is understudied especially on the role of commensal viruses and other organisms in the emergence and progression of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study therefore aim to evaluate the plasma viromes across cohorts of patients with HBV mono-infection, HBV/HDV co-infection with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma