Epidemiology of Hepatitis B and C Viruses: A Global Overview

In this work, the coumarin thioether derivatives (CS1–CS5) were synthesised by S_N2 reaction and structural characterization was assessed through IR, NMR and HRMS spectroscopy. Quantum chemical parameters, theoretical IR spectra and molecular electrostatic potential were assessed using DFT investigations. The antimycobacterial activity profile against Mycobacterium tuberculosis was determined, compounds CS1 and CS2 showed good and similar inhibition with MIC value of 1.6 µg/mL, while the remaining coumarin conjugates exhibited significant potency with MIC values ranging from 25 to 50 µg/mL. The synthesised thioethers were also tested for hepatoprotective activity, with the results revealing that compound CS4 emerged as a most effective hepatoprotective agent by exhibiting cell viability greater than 90%, while other compounds had only moderate protective activity. In addition, the TNF-α receptor was used in a molecular docking study.

Hepatitis B is a viral infectious disease highly spread worldwide with a long evolutionary history associated with human migrations through the continents and countries. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was disseminated probably from Africa and diverged into ten genotypes (HBV-A to HBV-J) distributed around the world. In Brazil, almost all HBV genotypes were already reported, with a predominance of three ones: A (52.1%), D (36.8%), and F (7.7%). This review aimed to evaluate the introduction and dissemination of the main HBV genotypes and subgenotypes in Brazil over the last centuries to explain the current epidemic scenario. The highest frequency of HBV-A is a consequence of the introduction and spreading of HBV-A1 in the 16th to 19th centuries due to the African slave trade, but the more recent introduction of HBV-A2 from Europe also contributed to the current situation. HBV-D is the second most frequent genotype because it was consecutively introduced by migrations from Europe (mainly subgenotype D3, but also D2) and the Middle East (D1) in the 19th to 20th centuries. On contrary, HBV-F (F1a, F1b, F2a, F2b, F3, and F4) was disseminated by the Amerindians in all South American countries, including Brazil, by migrations inside the continent for more than three centuries ago. Other HBV genotypes are rare and eventually frequent in some human groups because of the dissemination by very specific epidemiological routes. In conclusion, the current scenario of the HBV epidemics is a consequence of the introduction and dissemination of some subgenotypes from the three main genotypes A, D, and F over the last five centuries.