{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,4]],"date-time":"2026-11-04T12:52:13Z","timestamp":1793796733640,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,14]],"date-time":"2024-10-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1728864000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sex Transm Infect"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title><jats:p>Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with emtricitabine\/tenofovir to prevent HIV in individuals with hepatitis B virus (HBV) raises concerns about HBV reactivation when stopping event-driven PrEP or redundancy in HBV treatment for continuous PrEP (since tenofovir alone would be enough for HBV). Real-world data from PrEP services could provide useful epidemiological information on HBV prevalence in PrEP attendees in low-prevalence countries.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A retrospective analysis on PrEP attendees of three services in northern Italy were conducted to assess HBV prevalence among PrEP attendees and the need for primary cycle\/booster dose HBV vaccination despite previous vaccination during childhood (at birth or 12 years). Risk factors possibly associated with HBV exposure were evaluated with a binary logistic regression analysis, controlling for age, gender, place of birth (Italy vs abroad) and chemsex use (as a proxy of high-risk sexual behaviour for contracting sexually transmitted infections).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Among 10 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive out of 2152 PrEP attendees (0.46%), PrEP was started in 7 subjects mainly with a daily schedule, 1 has declined after counselling, 2 were lost to follow-up. Around three-fourth of the 2152 PrEP attendees were born in Italy after 1979, thus were previously vaccinated during childhood. The probability of needing a booster for low-titre HBs antibodies was higher among those vaccinated at birth with respect to those vaccinated at 12 years (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.80 to 2.96). The risk of previous HBV exposure (resulting in either HBsAg+ or antibodies against HBV core antigen [HBcAb]+) was higher for increasing age (OR 3.07, 95%\u2009CI 2.49 to 3.78 per 10 years more) and lower for being born in Italy (OR 0.23, 95%\u2009CI 0.14 to 0.36).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Our real-world data on a large PrEP cohort suggest that, although uncommon, HBV infection in PrEP users in low-prevalence countries should be considered and managed. In addition, HBV screening offers the opportunity to expand prevention services through vaccination.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2024-056245","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,14]],"date-time":"2024-10-14T17:20:38Z","timestamp":1728926438000},"page":"121-124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Challenges and opportunities for hepatitis B virus screening in people attending PrEP services: a retrospective prevalence study"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"101","author":[{"given":"Bianca","family":"Monti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4965-8789","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Rossotti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabiana","family":"D\u2019Aloia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniele","family":"Calzavara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Corsico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Massimo","family":"Cernuschi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Massimo","family":"Puoti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paolo","family":"Bonfanti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4447-2574","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Soria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2352-3018(23)00204-7"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.14309\/ajg.0000000000002203"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12247565","article-title":"Hepatitis Flares or Hepatic Decompensation after Discontinuation of Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate and Entecavir in Non-Cirrhotic Hepatitis B e Antigen-Negative Patients","volume":"12","author":"Huang","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Clin Med"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/507532"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhep.2017.03.021"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-015-0874-3","article-title":"The long-term immunogenicity of recombinant hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine: contribution of universal HBV vaccination in Italy","volume":"15","author":"Coppola","year":"2015","journal-title":"BMC Infect Dis"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/21645515.2017.1264795"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/QAI.0000000000000857"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2352-3018(22)00123-0"},{"key":"2025032404400816000_101.2.121.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/HEP.0000000000000384"}],"container-title":["Sexually Transmitted Infections"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/sextrans-2024-056245","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,24]],"date-time":"2025-03-24T11:44:49Z","timestamp":1742816689000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/sti.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/sextrans-2024-056245"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,14]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,24]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,3]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/sextrans-2024-056245"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/sextrans-2024-056245","relation":{},"ISSN":["1368-4973","1472-3263"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1368-4973","type":"print"},{"value":"1472-3263","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,14]]}}}