# Sandro Vento
**Sandro Vento** is an Italian-trained infectious diseases physician-researcher known for work on viral hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and HIV infection, and in particular for a 1998 prospective study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that hepatitis A superinfection (a new infection on top of an existing chronic one) runs a fulminant (sudden, severe, and rapidly life-threatening), frequently fatal course in patients with chronic hepatitis C.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062) • [2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/) He holds two current academic posts: Associated Full Professor (Clinical Disciplines) at Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University in [Petropavl](https://www.edgepedia.org/petropavl), North Kazakhstan, from 1 November 2024, and Adjunct Clinical Professor (Medicine) at the University of Puthisastra in [Phnom Penh](https://www.edgepedia.org/phnom-penh), Cambodia, from 16 September 2024.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062) Earlier in his career he was Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Verona and held clinical and academic leadership posts in Italy, the United Kingdom, Botswana, and [Kazakhstan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kazakhstan).[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Infectious diseases; viral hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, HIV infection[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/) |
| Training | M.D. with honors, University of Bologna, 1980; specialization with honors in Infectious Diseases, 1984[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/) |
| Signature work | "Fulminant Hepatitis Associated with Hepatitis A Virus Superinfection in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C", New England Journal of Medicine, 1998[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true) |
| Key result | Fulminant hepatic failure in 7 of 17 chronic hepatitis C patients after hepatitis A superinfection (41 percent); all but one died[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true) |
| Current posts | Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University (from 2024-11-01); University of Puthisastra, Phnom Penh (from 2024-09-16)[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062) |
| Earlier leadership | Dean of Medicine and founding head of internal medicine, University of Botswana; founding chair of medicine and medical director, Nazarbayev University[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/) |
| Recent focus (2024–2026) | Hepatitis D in sub-Saharan Africa, hepatitis seroprevalence in Kazakhstan, long-acting antiretrovirals, and short-cycle HIV therapy[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062) |
## Training and career record
Vento received his M.D. with honors from the [University of Bologna](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-bologna) in 1980 and specialized with honors in Infectious Diseases at the same university in 1984.[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/) His early research career included a post as Research Registrar and Honorary Lecturer in Medicine at [King's College Hospital](https://www.edgepedia.org/kings-college-hospital) and its School of Medicine & [Dentistry](https://www.edgepedia.org/dentistry) in London.[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/)
Back in Italy he served as [Consultant](https://www.edgepedia.org/consultant) in Infectious Diseases at Civile Maggiore Referral Hospital in Verona and at Arnaldo Pugliese Referral Hospital in [Catanzaro](https://www.edgepedia.org/catanzaro), then as Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Verona and as Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Annunziata Referral Hospital in Cosenza.[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/) The University of Verona repository records his research output from this period, including work on hepatitis C in HIV-coinfected patients.[4](https://iris.univr.it/handle/11562/318676)
He later moved into academic leadership abroad. At the University of Botswana in Gaborone he was [Dean](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-education) of the Faculty of Medicine and Professor and Founding Head of the Department of Internal Medicine.[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/) Before joining the University of Puthisastra he was Founding Chair of the Department of Medicine and Medical Director of the [University Medical Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-medical-center), which included four referral hospitals, at Nazarbayev University in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.[2](https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/)
## Representative work
The 1998 New England Journal of Medicine paper quantified the risk of hepatitis A superinfection in chronic hepatitis carriers. The study prospectively followed 595 adults with biochemical and histologic evidence of chronic hepatitis B (163 patients) or chronic hepatitis C (432 patients) from June 1990 to July 1997; all were seronegative for hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibodies at entry and were tested every four months.[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true) More than 20 patients acquired HAV superinfection, 10 with chronic hepatitis B and 17 with chronic hepatitis C.[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true) Fulminant hepatic failure developed in seven of the 17 chronic hepatitis C patients, 41 percent, and all but one died, with six deaths occurring between 8 hours and 12 days after admission.[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true) By contrast, most of the ten chronic hepatitis B patients who acquired superinfection had uncomplicated courses, and the study's authors concluded that patients with chronic hepatitis C should be vaccinated against hepatitis A.[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true)
A 2000 follow-up review in the Journal of Viral Hepatitis reported the same cohort of 432 chronic hepatitis C patients, 183 of them with cirrhosis, followed over seven years, with 17 acquiring concurrent HAV infection, seven developing fulminant hepatitis, and six dying.[5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2893.2000.00019.x) None of the patients who developed fulminant hepatitis had cirrhosis; the HLA phenotype A1;B8;DR3 appeared to be a significant factor, together with high titres of antinuclear, antismooth-muscle, and antiasialoglycoprotein-receptor antibodies, suggesting that superinfection induced autoimmune hepatitis in susceptible people.[5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2893.2000.00019.x) The review also noted a large [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.edgepedia.org/centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention) survey showing that HAV infection in patients with pre-existing chronic liver disease is associated with increased mortality, and called for further prospective studies.[5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2893.2000.00019.x)
## Wider research program
The superinfection work grew out of a longer line on viruses as triggers of liver autoimmunity. A 2003 review in Autoimmunity Reviews, with Vento as corresponding author, asked whether viruses play a role in triggering autoimmune hepatitis.[7](https://doi.org/10.1016/s1568-9972(03)00053-3)
A second line concerned hepatitis viruses in HIV infection. In HIV immunotherapy, a 2006 Lancet paper examined interleukin-2 therapy and CD4+ T cells in HIV-1 infection.[8](https://siicsalud.com/dato/autorb.php/75544) His work has also covered infections in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and the association between cytomegalovirus infection and cardiac, kidney, lung, and liver allograft rejection.[8](https://siicsalud.com/dato/autorb.php/75544) • [6](https://scispace.com/authors/sandro-vento-2mq63ix2f9)
## Recent work and current positions
Since late 2024 Vento has held the two posts noted above, and his recent publications carry affiliations at both institutions: the Faculty of Medicine, Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University, Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan, and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Puthisastra, Phnom Penh.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062) • [9](https://www.em-consulte.com/article/1752478/covid-19-mortality-in-africa-and-asia) His 2024 to 2026 output listed on ORCID spans hepatitis D virus infection in sub-Saharan Africa (International Journal of Infectious Diseases, September 2026), long-acting antiretrovirals, and the path toward an HIV cure (Biomedicines, 2025), short-cycle bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide therapy in virally suppressed people living with HIV (Biomedicines, 2024), overt and occult hepatitis B among haemodialysis patients in Ghana (PLOS ONE, 2024), an opinion article on medical education in low- and middle-income countries (Frontiers in Medicine, 2025), a case report of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in a Kazakh patient (2025), and a 2025 article on COVID-19 mortality in Africa and Asia.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062) He has also published on seroprevalence and risk factors for hepatitis B and hepatitis C in three large regions of Kazakhstan.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062)
## What the numbers showed and what remains open
The 1998 cohort remains the clearest quantitative statement of the superinfection risk: according to the study, hepatitis A superinfection produced fulminant hepatic failure in seven of 17 chronic hepatitis C patients, about 41 percent, with six of those seven dying within hours to days of admission, while chronic hepatitis B patients with the same superinfection almost always recovered.[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true) The proposed explanation is immunological rather than a consequence of advanced scarring: the fulminant cases occurred in patients without cirrhosis, carried the HLA A1;B8;DR3 phenotype, and showed high titres of liver-directed autoantibodies, pointing to autoimmune hepatitis triggered by the virus.[5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2893.2000.00019.x) According to the *New England Journal of Medicine* study, the practical result was the recommendation to vaccinate chronic hepatitis C patients against hepatitis A,[3](https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true) and the 2000 *Journal of Viral Hepatitis* review records further prospective study of hepatitis A superinfection in chronic liver disease as the field's own stated remaining task.[5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2893.2000.00019.x)
## References
1. Sandro Vento (0000-0003-0084-4062), ORCID record. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4062
2. UP has appointed Dean of Medicine, University of Puthisastra. https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/news-events/medicine/up-has-appointed-dean-of-medicine/
3. Fulminant Hepatitis Associated with Hepatitis A Virus Superinfection in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C, New England Journal of Medicine, 1998. https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199801293380503?articleTools=true
4. Enhancement of hepatitis C virus replication and liver damage in HIV-coinfected patients on antiretroviral combination therapy, University of Verona repository. https://iris.univr.it/handle/11562/318676
5. Fulminant hepatitis associated with hepatitis A virus superinfection in patients with chronic hepatitis C, Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 2000. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2893.2000.00019.x
6. Sandro Vento, SciSpace author profile. https://scispace.com/authors/sandro-vento-2mq63ix2f9
7. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1568-9972(03)00053-3
8. Sandro Vento, Columnistas Expertos, SIIC Salud. https://siicsalud.com/dato/autorb.php/75544
9. COVID-19 mortality in Africa and Asia, EM Consulte. https://www.em-consulte.com/article/1752478/covid-19-mortality-in-africa-and-asia
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Life and health scientists › Medical and health researchers › Researchers in infectious disease, epidemiology, vaccines, and global health › Viral hepatitis*
*Initially written Sep 20, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license