Short report: hepatitis E infection in the Brazilian Amazon.
This is the first report of serologic evidence of hepatitis E infection in Brazil. During a community-based survey of healthy individuals, six of 97 gold miners in the Amazon region of Mato Grosso had antibody to the virus. The mining camps have poor sanitation with a great potential for fecal-oral transmission of disease. Since levels of hepatitis E antibodies may quickly wane, studies to directly measure the incidence of seroconversion are planned to determine the intensity of transmission in this area.
Pang
L
L
U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.
Alencar
F E
FE
Cerutti
C
C
Milhous
W K
WK
Andrade
A L
AL
Oliveira
R
R
Kanesa-Thasan
N
N
MaCarthy
P O
PO
Hoke
C H
CH
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008906:Mining; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies