title: Seroprevalence of viral hepatitis in riverine communities from the Western Region of the Brazilian Amazon Basin.
abstract: The western region of the Brazilian Amazon Basin has long been shown to be a highly endemic area for hepatitis B and hepatitis D viruses. Data concerning the prevalence of hepatitis C and E viruses in this region are still scarce. In this study we investigated the presence of hepatitis A, B, C, D and E viruses infection in communities that live along the Purus and Acre rivers in the states of Acre and Amazonas within the Amazon Basin. A total of 349 blood samples were collected and tested for hepatitis A-E serological markers (antibodies and/or antigens) using commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. Anti-HCV positive sera were further assayed by an immunoblot. HBsAg positive sera were subtyped by immunodifusion. The overall prevalence for hepatitis A, B, C, and E were 93.7%, 66.1%, 1.7%, and 4%, respectively. A very high prevalence of delta hepatitis (66.6%) was found among HBsAg positive subjects. Hepatitis A, B and D viruses were shown to be largely disseminated in this population, while hepatitis C and E viruses infection presented low prevalence rates in this region. The analysis of risk factors for HBV infection demonstrated that transmission was closely associated with sexual activity.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. vdepaula@genedbbm.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: de Paula
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Arruda
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Vitral
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gaspar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies