Hep Mec Cohort in Zambia (Hep Mec)

May 9, 2026 updated by: Michael Vinikoor, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Observational cohort of adults with acute and chronic hepatitis B infection in Zambia, with and without HIV coinfection. Participants join the study at the time of diagnosis and before or at the time when they are starting antiviral treatments and then they are followed up over multiple years to assess changes to their liver and evolution of HBV (and HIV if applicable) infection. All treatments for HBV and HIV are standard per local Ministry of Health guidelines.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

390

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Michael J Vinikoor, MD
  • Phone Number: 205-934-5191
  • Email: mjv3@uab.edu

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Zambia
      • Lusaka, Zambia
        • Recruiting
        • University Teaching Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
      • Lusaka, Zambia
        • Recruiting
        • Kanyama Level 1 Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
      • Lusaka, Zambia
        • Recruiting
        • Matero Level 1 Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This study will occur in Lusaka, Zambia, which has 12% adult HIV prevalence and ~4% adult HBsAg-positivity. Both HIV and HBV treatment are free and provided through the Ministry of Health. Tenofovir-based therapies are used for HBV monoinfection and HBV/HIV coinfection. Potential participants will be recruited from Ministry of Health (i.e., public sector) clinics at study sites including from a pool of participants in past HBV research projects. There are a 5 groups of participants we seek to enroll in the study, to facilitate addressing the scientific goals of the cohort.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Must meet the inclusion criteria for one of 5 groups, as follows:

  • Group 1 (rx-naive chronic hbv mono): 18+ years old, HBsAg-positive, HIV-negative, eligible for tenofovir-based therapy, reports taking therapy no more than 7 days (could have previously taken if has stopped >1 year ago).
  • Group 2 (acute hbv mono): 18+ years old, HBsAg-positive, HIV-negative, acute/subacute onset of hepatitis signs and symptoms and ALT >10 times upper limit of normal
  • Group 3 (rx-naive hbv/hiv coinfection): 18+ years old, HBsAg-positive, HIV-negative, eligible for tenofovir-based therapy, reports taking therapy no more than 7 days (could have previously taken if has stopped >1 year ago).
  • Group 4 (rx-experienced coinfection with hbv persistence): 18+ years old, history of chronic HBV infection based on two tests 6 months apart, HIV-positive, at least 4 years of tenofovir-based antiviral therapy, currently HBsAg-positive
  • Group 5 (hbsag loss): 18+ years old, HIV-positive or negative, history of chronic HBV infection based on two tests 6 months apart, Currently HBsAg-negative confirmed by sensitive assay

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Hepatitis C coinfection (antibody-positive and RNA-positive), current or recent (past 6 weeks) pregnancy, decompensated cirrhosis on physical examination, unlikely to remain in Lusaka for study duration

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Treatment-naive chronic HBV monoinfection and eligible for antiviral therapy
Adults who are HBsAg-positive, HIV-positive, eligible for HBV antiviral therapy and has not yet or just started taking therapy
Treatment-naive acute HBV monoinfection
Adults who are HBsAg-positive, HIV-negative, and have the syndrome of acute hepatitis
Treatment-naive HBV/HIV coinfection
Adults who are both HBsAg and HIV positive, and are not yet or just started taking HBV-active ART
Treatment-experienced HBV/HIV coinfection with persistent HBsAg-emia
Adults with HBV/HIV coinfection and persistent HBsAg-emia after at least 4 years of HBV-active ART
Treatment-experienced HBV infection with HBsAg loss
Adults with and without HIV coinfection who have a documented history of chronic HBV infection that subsequently resolved (i.e., HBsAg loss) during antiviral therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Intrahepatic Immune Cell Subset Frequencies
Time Frame: Baseline and 1 year
Percentage of immune cell subsets (CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, NK cells, Macrophages, and Neutrophils) among total liver immune cells as measured by single-cell RNA sequencing. Comparisons will be made between acute and chronic HBV infection, with and without HIV coinfection, and before and after nucleoside analog antiviral therapy.
Baseline and 1 year
Number of Differentially Expressed Hepatic Genes Associated with HBsAg Reduction/Loss
Time Frame: Baseline and 1 year
Count of genes showing differential expression (fold change ≥2.0, adjusted p-value <0.05) by single-cell RNA sequencing in liver biopsies from participants achieving HBsAg loss compared to those without HBsAg loss. Gene expression will be analyzed at baseline (predictive analysis), longitudinally (trajectory analysis), and at end of follow-up. Analysis will include comparison across acute vs. chronic HBV infection and with vs. without HIV coinfection.
Baseline and 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
HBV viral suppression
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years
Reduction of HBV DNA in blood to below detectable levels
Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years
HIV viral suppression
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years
HIV RNA suppression in blood below the level of assay detection
Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years
HBsAg seroclearance
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 5 years
Loss of hepatitis B surface antigen in blood samples
Through study completion, an average of 5 years
HBeAg seroconversion
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 5 years
HBeAg-negativity in blood
Through study completion, an average of 5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Collaborators

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Massachusetts General Hospital
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
University of Zambia
Tropical Gastroenterology and Nutrition Group

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michael Vinikoor, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 28, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 9, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-300003590
  • R37AI179640 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • R01AI147727 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • R01AI195435 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • 316-2019 (Other Identifier: University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All study results and anonymized participant data will be made publicly-available. The timing will be based on when analysis is completed and results are disseminated. The study also will adhere to Zambian laws around data protection and sharing.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Supporting information will be made available at study completion. IPD will be made available after completion of primary outcome analyses. We expect primary outcomes analyses will be completed in 2027, 2028, and 2029.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

During the study, only staff in Zambia and collaborating investigators will have access to IPD and supporting information. After the end of the study, this will be gradually made publicly available.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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